The Adventures of Naruto
by Danfiction
Summary: A brilliant son hiding his talents, wishing for the life of an adventurer suddenly finds himself getting what he wishes. Demons, ninjas, villages in need; did he get more than he bargained for? He forges his own name among the nations, becoming a legend.
1. Father and Lazy Son

Ch 1

**Note basics of this Fanfic: Pairings are unknown, and the pairing with Naruto will be, no parings at all besides the little flings here and there, it will be adventure based, delving maybe only a little into the main canon but not so much if probably not at all actually. There will be OCs and a lot of them along with a lot of crossovers that will be made into the Naruto adventure series. I will also try to use non main characters, or mostly canon characters that get over looked.**

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"Naruto!"

The name echoed throughout the giant two story manor, the wooden walls vibrated from the great voice as a man stood out near the railing from his inner home. The giant house was unique to the rest of the manors in the village, there were rooms like a normal home, and all was located around the hallways and building walls but, there was a giant section from the middle of the manor that ranged from a giant square. This section contained a garden and a pond which forced the manor to be constructed around it, forming what seemed like a fortress wall guarding this inner sanctum.

On the second floor, there were railings to ensure safety, but it was for the common folk who did enter, although if it was a ninja, most safety measurements weren't necessary.

The man's hand reached back and pushed away his long bright blonde hair. His face was annoyed before he sighed out as the cool air from the morning still meant it was pretty early.

"That lazy son of mine," he mumbled to himself as he pushed himself away from the railing and continued on with his search.

When the light started to glow on the horizon, the mysterious man had to stop and stare at the scenery before he thought back to his son, 'Years and years of training, and still, he shows no progress,' his eyes became dull as he took the time to stare out into the courtyard, watching as the rays of light soon touched the little pond and the tree around the area as he was beginning to feel the morning breeze that fluttered towards him that it made his cape flap before him.

Ever since the death of his wife, he was forced to raise his son alone. Often times, he had to assign a sort of sitter to watch the child because of his work. Most of the cases, he didn't come home at times just so he could check if everything was running smoothly in the village but he should have known it might not have had a good effect on the boy.

A sigh escaped his throat once more, 'Kushina, I don't know if I am raising him properly,' he thought saddened as he spotted a figure in the center of the courtyard. It was his son Naruto, sitting under the shade of the tree. He watched his son as his eyes grew sad. The boy was reading a scroll it seems, studying hard at his age so young.

'Ten years old and still,' the Hokage had shaken that thought away before taking the path that led to the courtyard, even though the option to jump over the rail was still available to him.

Through the years, he watched in darkness as his son grew up, often the quiet boy just locking himself in his room, reading his books or scrolls. It confused him though, with all the boy had read, why was his academy grades so low? It was a mystery to him but what worried him the most was the boy's social behavior. Naruto didn't socialize, he would rather read a book or stay quiet to himself, rather than talk to other kids his age.

As he stepped onto the grass of the courtyard and his footsteps where a couple steps away from his son, there was still one thought that brought a smile to his face, 'he still has a friend though, sometimes as quiet as him if not timid actually,' he thought of the young Hyuuga girl, 'she too lost her mother.'

He stopped in front of his son, watching as the scroll the boy was reading was placed on top of the boy's face. There was a low snooze electing to be the only sound that came from the boy as the Hokage couldn't stop the twitch of his eye before realizing the boy was sleeping.

"Na-ru-to," his voice was slightly aggravated as he was set on awaking the child…

Naruto felt the scroll on top of him suddenly fall off as his eyes slowly opened. A yawn escaped his throat as he stared up before finding the scolding look on his father's face.

"Eh," the boy twitched in surprise, suddenly wide awake before standing up to attention as he faced his father.

"Hurry and change, you will be late for the academy Naruto," the Hokage skipped the scolding; it was already no use as the boy nodded.

"Alright Minato," Naruto relaxed his shoulder before walking away; ignoring the pained look on his father's face, "best not to disappoint them," he stared back before finally leaving.

The Hokage stood there with his hands falling to his side as his eyes seemingly grew tired. 'Not once had he called me father,' he thought sadly, staring up into the tree. It might have been his fault, the way most people had expected a lot from the Hokage's son and the way he had been hiring tutors for the boy. 'Maybe taking advice from Hiashi wasn't a good idea,' he sighed before he sensed a presence.

A ninja who was wearing a mask covering his face appeared by his side as he spoke, "My Lord, you are needed at your office."

Minato stared at the ninja curiously…

…**Scene Change…**

A blonde boy was seen walking through the quiet early mornings of the village. The street was calm and peaceful, only a few stood outside their homes or shops, sweeping or going about the start of their day. The boy's attitude seemed slacked as he made no attempts to greet back the villagers who greeted him, is was as if he was lost in his own little world, something that most people if asked would agree on.

'A seal is able to create an alternate space for weapons or items, a sort of new dimension' Naruto remembered his readings and tried to recall his studies as he repeated it in his head, taking out the important info, 'time in the seals are different, depending on what kind is written, the symbols for time, and the symbols for world each have different ways of being written,' he pondered for a moment, his hands in his pocket seemed to be playing with something, "so, what exactly is the limit of space? Is it the symbol or the chakra?" he whispered to himself before spotting the Academy in the distance.

He sighed before heading towards the place, "two more years then I'll be out," he said while thinking back to his past.

Years and years of studying did not go without waste. Ninja techniques, chakra concentration, and what not, he knew more than he let on. It started long ago that he decided to keep his talents hidden, especially with so many people who had high expectations of him, he just quit trying to impress others and instead, he rather concentrated on growing stronger without anyone knowing. Still, in his heart, there was a dream he wanted to fulfill, what he really wanted to do was to venture out of this place, travel the continent, see new sites and just be a modern day explorer.

He had studied a lot in the Namikaze manor, the galore of books, scrolls, and even a few techniques hidden behind blood seals. He had taken notes, stored them inside the seals he had created in his body and read upon them daily hoping for the day he was free from this place.

Still, it was not as if he hated the place. He loved it here, he was born in this village it's just the stories he heard from his godfather Jiraiya, the travels and adventures, it had filled him with so much curiosity for the outside world. His father though, he knew how much it hurt him calling him by just his first name but the way he grew up, it was awkward enough being around him, they just never really showed emotions, it felt as if he was someone that had to be looked after, never truly like a son even though he cared deeply for him.

He sighed again before arriving in front of the door to his classroom, "another boring day…"

…**Scene Change…**

Minato arrived at his office through the large doors before meeting the informer ninja who was waiting for him. He instructed him to proceed while he still kept the pace to his chair.

The ninja bowed before speaking, "my Lord, the forest near the outskirts of the village are slowly dying, I've already sent several men to find the source of the problem but," the ninja seemed stumped, "we cannot locate the source."

"Aren't there any chakra residue around the area?" Minato questioned because he had personally checked the area himself before "If there is, tell me why it is hard to trace that to its source?"

"Sir," the ninja's voice was apologetic, "this chakra, its different from the normal ones we've encounter."

"How so?" Minato asked curiously.

"This is chakra is tainted with demonic essence, tracking it down is impossible due to the sheer power from our scans," Minato looked alarmed at this as the ninja spoke gravely, "we would normally try to find the source but with the chakra actually destroying our scanners, it is almost impossible unless we get a hold on stronger equipment, plus, even this demonic chakra is giving most of our seasoned veterans headaches just being around it too much."

The Hokage pondered, wondering what he would do about this problem. He knew this problem had been going on now for several years, they just didn't notice it until the beginning of this year when it started to affect the vegetation around the area.

"Then we must find better equipment," Minato ordered, "I don't care how much it costs, keeping checking; we need to solve this problem at once. The local village farmers will have a hard time if this continues on and if the ninjas are getting a headache, try special suits in that area or try switching out ninjas every hour. If worse comes to worse, treat it as if it was poison."

"Yes my Lord," the ninja bowed low, taking in his orders, "at once," he disappeared as Minato sighed and reclined on his chair.

He couldn't rest long before another ninja appeared into his room; it seemed he had urgent business, especially since this ninja was the one he had given a special mission, "Sir, I have finished the investigation."

Minato stood up, his mouth speaking, "well, whose orders was it to sabotage a fellow village's supplies?"

"Sir, it was one of the elder councilors my Lord," Minato appeared shocked at the info before his eyes hardened.

"Which one and why did these anbus obey this order?"

"Sir, as we speak, captain Hatake is capturing these rogue anbus and the councilor at the moment. It seems this councilor had his own army of anbus under his control and with the documents we've managed to obtain," the ninja handed them to Minato who quickly opened them and started skimming through it; "it seems he had been operating under your radar sir."

Minato narrowed his eyes, because within the documents were pictures, maps, and lists of names from other ninjas within his own village that had the elder Danzou's name attached to it. He slammed the documents on the table, "abducting children from the orphanages, training his own army," Minato stared at the ninja, "bring him to me, he will answer for his crimes. Get me Danzou now!"

"Yes my Lord," the ninja bowed, disappearing to fulfill the orders as Minato leaned back on his reclining chair that clearly had seen better days.

After tonight, there was going to be stacks of reports from several ninjas, along with other paperwork that he was already dreading, he knew he had a lot of work tonight. With that in mind, soberly, he reached the intercom on his desk, waiting for the beep until he heard a feminine voice from the other side speak out.

"Yes Lord Hokage, how may I assist you?"

"Yes," Minato placed his Hokage robe away before digging to his work, "can you please inform those in my manor that I will not be home for supper, and could you order me the usual, thanks," he clicked the speaker off as a sad look crossed his face. 'Another day in the office,' he thought depressed.

**...Scene change…**

The tapping of the chalkboard, the voice of Iruka sensei, the lectures, the 'oh' so boring lectures as Naruto twitched an eye, staring down at his note book filled with symbols.

As the class subject concentrated on one topic, Naruto thought of another as he continued to write on his notebook, 'if we store an item inside a seal, wipe the symbol thus destroying the connection, a similar seal could be created to recover the lost one,' he drew the pictures of two identical symbols before he sensed someone glancing at him from his right side.

He glanced to his right, catching the curiously peeking eyes of a Hyuuga girl who blushed at being caught before she had turned to face the board.

Naruto almost laughed there and then but decided against it, else he would get in trouble for disrupting class or what not by the teacher.

"So then, one of the laws of a ninja is…" Iruka turned to the class, his eyes landing on a blonde haired boy, "Naruto?"

"I don't know," the boy answered right away, not even sparing Iruka a glance as the class laughed.

Iruka sighed, placing his book down to his side, "come on Naruto, you should know one at least," he sensed the boy was hiding something as Naruto peered up, un too interested before shaking his head.

Iruka sighed, "See me after class," he turned around facing the board as he heard a sigh escaped the boy's throat.

It was many gruesome hours later that Naruto had to go through until class finally ended.

Now he stood half heartedly, hearing one of Iruka's lectures as he faced another direction.

"I've seen you read books, scrolls," Iruka walked back and forth speaking, "I know you are a lot smarter than this Naruto, I even confiscated on of your little doodles that were actually seals!," he stopped and faced the boy, staring down at the uncaring look, "tell me, what's bothering you, why do you never apply yourself in class?"

Naruto stared up at his sensei, the guy was kind hearted man and he respected that, but there was no problem really, he was just bored. Naruto shrugged as Iruka had to look down at him sadly before speaking, "ok then Naruto, and just know I'll always be here if you need anything."

Naruto nodded, "so I can leave?"

Iruka sat back on his chair, "yes you can," Naruto started heading out but stopped as Iruka spoke again, "Naruto, take care of yourself, not because you are the son of the Hokage but so you can become a strong ninja of the Leaf."

It was hard to reply to something like that as Naruto briefly nodded in thanks before finally exiting.

The sun kissed blonde haired boy walked out of the academy, hands in his pocket and a not too serious face. He spotted the Hyuuga girl again, leaning against the wall, waiting for him as she soon glanced up, flushing as she spotted him before heading his way.

"You know Naruto," she spoke in that quiet voice while falling in step as Naruto smiled at how soft her voice sounded, "he wouldn't pick on you if you answered a few questions," she glanced up at him as Naruto shrugged in response.

"One question leads to another, Hinata" Naruto placed a hand up in a stopping motion, "I'd rather stop it when it starts," he placed his hand back into his pocket and they continued walking on.

Hinata grew sad at that comment, she worried over Naruto's attitude, he just didn't try hard at anything, even in the martial art classes, Naruto ended up in the lowest rankings, she didn't know if he wasn't trying or if he was just weak. She shook her head from that thought; she guessed he was just distracted, "Naruto," she stared down, a question in her mind as Naruto stared down curiously at her, "is it because we are to be…"

Naruto placed a hand on her mouth, shushing her and from the contact, it made the girl turn red as Naruto stared ahead before taking out a paper filled with symbols, "listen, I told you before that I don't hate it or like it," he handed the paper to a confused Hinata as Naruto said, "we're still too young, I like you and all but," Naruto shook his head before directing Hinata to concentrate her chakra onto the paper.

Hinata knew that was a sensitive topic, it seemed that her father and Naruto's own decided on an arrange marriage between the two of them, whatever the reason, they didn't know but there was no getting out of it as they both seemed forced into this whole relationship, even though they were still just kids. They just received the news months ago.

They stopped walking for a moment as she concentrated on her chakra, sent a little of it pulsing out into the paper before watching in amazement as several seals glowed blue on the surface of the paper before the paper itself suddenly flew out of her hand and puffed into a small burst of smoke. It floated slowly in the air and landed softly onto her hand.

"N-Naruto," she blushed, staring at the paper lily that now lay at the palm of her hands, "how did you do this?" she admired the texture of it, different from how a hand would craft the origami but still just as good, if not better.

Naruto shrugged as they approached the Hyuuga mansion, "just something I picked up," he gave her a low smile before the Hyuuga guards spotted them.

They both departed from each other, Naruto waving a good bye to the girl who had waved as well maybe a bit too enthusiastically for him.

While traveling home, he made his way to a little space hidden from the crowd as he briefly sensed around him, noticing no one was around before he lifted his hands up in a seal, "this is way better," he concentrated before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

It took a few more leaps with the body flicker technique, and several poof of smoke before he appeared inside the center of his manor which would be the courtyard. Calmly, he walked inside his home. One of the servants that worked there spotted him before calling out to he boy.

"Young master,"

Naruto stopped at the voice before nodding to the servant who continued to speak.

"I'm sorry to inform you but your father will not be coming home tonight, there are urgent matters he must attend to in the Hokige office, would you like us to prepare your supper soon?"

It wasn't a surprise that his father would be out, late at the office. It has happened many times before in the past that Naruto wasn't so bothered by it, besides, he was the Hokage, it was expected of the man.

"It's ok, I'll eat elsewhere tonight"

"As you wish young Namikaze," the servant bowed as Naruto sighed and decided to go where he always went to at times like this.

He travelled quickly using the body flicker until finally arriving at a clearing that spot that was filled with dummies and targets. He sat on the grass before lifting up his hand. A seal glowed on his palm before a kunai suddenly appeared in the air, he caught it. Lazily, he watched one of the dummy targets in front of him before tossing the kunai towards it. With a thud, the kunai hit the target; a bull's-eye on the dummy's face as Naruto sighed and proceeded to lay back to stare up at the orange skies.

The stubby little grass around the area made swish noise, as if someone was stepping on them. Naruto heard and before he knew it, his smirk just started to appear on his face once the footsteps had gotten louder as if someone was approaching him.

The footsteps stopped a few inches from Naruto as he heard a feminine sigh escape of whoever's throat that was.

"And you come here again," she said, her voice wasn't really surprised, more like mediocre, used to it.

Naruto glanced up, spotting her brown hair buns and Chinese outfit as she moved towards the target, pulling out the kunai he had tossed earlier.

"So, your father not coming home tonight?" she questioned before tossing the kunai towards Naruto's body.

The boy closed his eyes as the kunai landed inches away from his cheek before he sat up and took the weapon off of the ground.

"Nah," Naruto grinned as he played with the kunai for a bit, twirling it around his finger, "I just wanted to see your pretty face," he chuckled as he saw a scowl and a feint blush land on her cheeks before she turned away.

"Grow up Naruto," she spoke in irritation before taking out a scroll and then proceeded on summoning a batch of kunai.

Naruto stood up and leaned against the trees, "Sorry Tenny" he watched as she twitched an eye, staring back at him dangerously.

"It's Tenten," she said aggravated before placing her hands on her hips and facing the boy, "you come here every time there's a problem; it's become annoyingly hard for me to train with you around."

Naruto shrugged, Tenten watched in surprise as the kunai he was holding suddenly disappeared in a burst of smoke as the boy walked towards her.

"I dun no, for some reason I feel trapped in this place," he jumped on a log, balancing himself for a bit as Tenten calmly sat down on top of one of the stumps around the area. In the past, she had met the boy here practicing his accuracy with the throwing knives. It impressed her the way he had thrown it, that, she thought it would be alright to train with the boy. It was slow but reluctantly, she did call the boy a friend and a little part of her cared for him.

Every time Naruto had spare time, he would come here, especially if he had a problem or if his father didn't come home…it was sad really.

"Why Naruto?" Tenten asked while resting her head on the palm of her hands in which the elbows leaned on top of her legs, "you're the son of the Hokage, and you have a lot more freedom than most of us."

"Yeah," Naruto jumped up, landing in a spot near Tenten before replying, "that's true, so I guess I'm not entitled to have any problems," his voice sounded a bit bitter in the end as Tenten sighed.

"Come on Naruto," Tenten glancing down at the boy who sat next to her, leaning his back on the stump she sat on, "what's the matter with you?"

Naruto peered up at her before lifting one hand up and staring at it for a moment, "I'm engaged."

Tenten fell from her stump, a shocking expression on her face as she stood up, staring at the boy in surprise, "WHAT!"

Naruto rubbed at his ear, "it's this arranged marriage my father and the Hyuuga leader planned from the beginning of last year, we've only been informed a few months back."

Tenten schooled herself, sitting back on the stump, "wow, is that why you're so down?"

He stared up again, his face distracted as he replied, "I don't hate the girl in fact, I can possibly see myself falling for a person like her," he smiled softly, "she's kind, soft spoken, pretty cute, and well…"

Tenten watched Naruto's cheeks suddenly had a red tint to them, "And she has really soft skin."

"You pervert," she muttered while gently smacking the boy's head.

"So then, what's the problem?" Tenten asked again as Naruto sighed before turning back to her.

"We're both forced into this, we haven't even lived yet, never really known if we truly would be together at the end," Naruto seemed stressed as he said it, "to be forced like this, I hate it really."

"Oh, so you just hate this whole arrange marriage?"

Naruto shook his head, "before that, there were all these expectations of me," he said annoyed, "I grew tired of it, I just want to get out of here, explore you know?"

Tenten nodded, a lot of people wanted to do that, "you only have two more years until you graduate, just wait."

The boy scoffed at that, "two more years and then I'll be assigned my squad, more people who will still look after me," Naruto stood up, his eyes staring longingly at the distance, "no, I want to go out there and explore, unguided by anyone."

"Well the only way you'll do that is if you're a missing ninja," Tenten stared at him curiously, "is that what you want?"

Naruto sighed, dejected from his dream, "no," he kicked at a rock before placing his hands in his pocket, "anyways, I wonder if Hinata wishes she could see other people."

"Hinata?" Tenten questioned before asking, "Is that the name of the girl you have to wed?"

Naruto smiled, "yup, Lady Hyuuga Hinata," he sighed, "my future wife," he said it not too excited as Tenten shook her head. She scooted next to the boy who noticed her approach while she also gave him a comforting smile.

Naruto paused for a moment, watching as the sun was quickly setting and night was approaching, "I guess I am being selfish," Tenten watched him in surprise as Naruto smiled sadly at her, "I was already chosen a wife even when we both might have ended up with someone else in the end."

"Really, someone else?" Tenten asked curiously as Naruto nodded, placing his hand out and counting.

"There is this pretty pink haired girl in class that I don't mind getting to know, heck I wouldn't mind getting to know her blonde haired friend as well," Tenten rolled her eyes at the boy. He sound just like some one going through puberty she supposed before suddenly she found Naruto staring at her, his finger scratching his nose, "I even thought about asking you out a few times…"

"W-what?" Tenten grew red, that was an unexpected answer. She was shocked as she watched Naruto sigh defeated before facing away from her.

She scolded her emotions before coughing onto her hand, "well that is sweet of you but how would you know I would agree to it, I am older than you."

Naruto shrugged, "that's the fun part of asking people out," he glanced at her, and his eyes seemed to sparkle, "you'll never know."

She felt herself blush again as Naruto started walking off again, "I'll see you around Tenten," she watched as he moved away before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

It still surprised her that he was able to do a technique like that, she knew Naruto was stronger than he was letting on before she sighed and stared back at the target, who knew, she might have said yes if he ever had asked her out…

He arrived at a small retreat in the back of the Hyuuga manor. A luscious place filled with a few tall trees, a grassy field, and a koi pond in the center with a bridge nearby. If there was one thing he had to complement the Hyuuga on, it was the scenery of the area.

His foots crept quietly through the grass as he heard a small dripping splash come from the pond. Slowly, he hid behind a tree before sticking his head out, watching as a small petite figure sat on the side of the pond, her hands throwing bread crumbs onto the surface while watching as the fishes swam up to the surface just to catch the food.

He smiled, watching her continue for a moment before a frown adorned her face. Her eyes seemed sad as Naruto wondered what was wrong, she started speaking.

"This is silly, I should be happy to be engaged to Naruto, shouldn't I," she laid on the grass, her eyes still staring at the pond as Naruto suddenly leaned against the tree, listening in.

"I just wonder if maybe," she seemed hesitant as she spoke, "just maybe he could show some emotions, or be as strong as a few other classmates," she paused before shaking her head, "no, I'm being too selfish, Naruto is a kind person," she blushed as she took out that paper flower he had given her, "and sweet too," she stood up, brushing away the dirt from her kimono, "I had better tell Kiba that I am engaged so he would stop his approaches," she said with firm resolve as she headed out of the area, walking up the bridge and entering her manor.

Naruto sighed as he stared up at the tree while his body still leaned against the tree, it was no secret that mutt boy had a crush on Hinata, often times he would see a jealous glare thrown his way when Hinata had made him lunch or done something nice for him.

Naruto decided he wouldn't get his free meal from the Hyuuga manor and decided to just go back to his studies in a secluded spot outside the village, away from eyes and a few enquiring people. He moved, disappearing into the darkness.

…**Elsewhere…**

"I will be free," it spoke in a deep voice that meant every word as its body thrashed against the chains that held it. The seals glowed, stinging its body before the giant creature fell to the floor.

"And to think," a small blue fire orb of light suddenly appeared in front of it, dangling back and forth as if dancing while the bluish red flames sparkled in the air, "I have to depend on someone to free me," the orb of fire shot off, leaving the cave as the creature narrowed its eyes and waited patiently.

…**Outskirts of Leaf Village…**

Naruto peered closely at the scroll he had copied from his father's secret stash. He began taking notes, trying to understand the details of his father's most famous techniques. He had finally figured out the seals to his father's blood warded room with years of practice, but it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. Mostly just blood seals he had to go through in which he assumed his father wasn't too concerned that he would be able to find a way inside.

That was part of the perks of hiding your talents Naruto guessed as he continued to write down notes, reading how this technique actually uses the whole dimensional space to travel. A user actually teleports, using these shifts in the dimensional spaces to travel through and land in a targeted area, just like a summoning technique. His father was a genius for figuring out a way of doing this without becoming stuck or losing a body part.

Naruto lifted up his right arm, watching as several seals appeared on his forearm heading down his arm before he slid a finger across them one at a time before stopping on a certain seal, he released as a cloud of smoke appeared and a scroll landed.

Naruto took the scroll, opening it up as well, briefly glancing at a certain line before turning back to the notes to his father's famous technique. There were some things that he didn't understand but in time, he would master it.

He lifted the scrolls up, sealing them back into the proper places in his body before he stared ahead into the dark forest, "so, let's do that technique shall we?" he asked himself before placing his hand forward and concentrating on his chakra.

Energy gathered, swirling in his hand as Naruto continued to concentrate.

'First step,' he watched as it swirled in place, an orb shape formed as Naruto nodded, 'complete.'

'Second step,' the technique started to wobble momentarily as Naruto started forcing the shape to stabilize. It continued to wobble as Naruto started to sweat; he placed his other hand on his arm, trying hard to keep the energy from the attack inside. 'Come on,' he was sweating now as the glow from the attack started to increase, a bad sign as he pushed harder, compressing, compressing. It stopped with the light suddenly fading back to the center as Naruto let out a breath of relief. His chakra suddenly spiked as the light grew bright again as Naruto swore before the technique backfired, exploding in his face and sending him flying towards a tree. His body slammed back as he let out several coughs, trying to regain his breath.

"I guess," he coughed again, picking himself back up, "I need to work on it more," he grinned before wondering what was next on his list.

"Alright," he formed a crossed shaped seal, "let's try…" he stopped as he spotted a light coming from the forest. His stance changed, turning to normal as he curiously watched as the little light flickered, moving around in a manner that most lamps usually weren't carried.

"What is…" it suddenly appeared, popping out of the forest as if it sensed he was there while Naruto had to observe strangely at the little ball of fire. It didn't seem to be harmful, even though Naruto hadn't seen something like this before, although, he though he read a blue ball of fire from somewhere before.

"Well hello?" he greeted as the fire hopped up and down before encircling around him, he had to chuckle, "you're an interesting fellow."

It stopped moving before flying back into the forest. It stopped near the edges, as if waiting for him.

"You want me to follow you?" he asked.

The light flew up and down, as if answering with a yes before Naruto nodded. He didn't know where it would take him, or what he would find, but he grew excited as he followed the fire into the forest.

He watched the bluish flame sparkled in their journey, a smile on his face as it bopped up and down, lighting the path. "So I take it you can't talk?" he asked as it moved left to right, like shaking a head.

His eyes stared up at the trees that seemed to have lost their leaves, a curious look on his face as he continued observing. The trees in the area appeared to have withered and the ground he stepped on, it felt dry and arid, he looked up at the ball of fire that lit the path ahead, he realized then that this place was dead.

'I have never been this far down the forest,' he thought as he continued to follow the light while examining the dead forest, 'why is everything withering away?'

He saved his questions to himself as he walked further down the path, wondering where he was going. Several minutes later, he spotted a cave opening ahead, he saw a seal on the cave entrance that appeared to have withered away just like the surroundings.

The fire glowed as it entered the cave while Naruto curiously placed his hand on the faded seal, "how long was this placed up?" he asked, spotting the old brownish color on the paper seal before deciding to enter the dark cave.

His steps echoed off as Naruto spotted the stalagmites and stalactites that permeated the area, giving this place off as a mouth of a demon beast. He spotted ahead; a light glowed off into the heart of the cave as Naruto felt warmth coming from the light.

He watched as the ball of light suddenly zoomed by him, quickly shooting off towards the light. Naruto was taken back as he reached out, "hey, wait up," he spoke before chasing after it.

He ran towards the light, spotting the clearing as he wondered what he would find at the end. Naruto ran across, stopping as he stood in front of the opening as his feet skidded to a halt. His blue eyes widened as he spotted a creature that he had only read in stories.

Tied up by chains as seals covered the entire area, it was a giant fox like demon, and it appeared either dead or asleep.

The nostrils suddenly flared, taking in the air around it as the eyes opened slightly, widening as if adjusting before turning back into slits as it narrowed onto the young boy.

"Finally," its deep voice spoke as the chains around it rustled on the floor, "someone has come."

Naruto fell back, his mouth opened wide as he stared at the giant demon, "w-who are you?"

The red demon eyes only stared at the boy as a low chuckle had been released…

…**Scene Change…**

In the Leaf village, Danzou stood inside his prison, a scowl on his lips as he stared out before chuckling, 'by the time they see the files, it would be too late, the Hyuuga girl and the legendary golden flash's son will be gone,' he smirked inside his prison cell…

Several ninjas stood outside the village walls, their faces hidden by their masks as they readily made their way up the walls, already the plan was in motion.

…**Naruto…**

"You boy," the demon tried to stand, only to fall to the floor as the seals glowed and the chains brought him down once more, "release me now," the creature demanded as the blonde boy seemed to have figured out what was going on.

Naruto overcame his brief shock before standing up, observing the seals placed on the chains as he walked up to one, "what are you?"

The creature struggled again as Naruto figured the seals would hold it down…it did, he watched the creature fall back, "little worm," it barked out as it struggled again, "oh how I would like to kill you."

Naruto glared back before turning back to the seal, "I recognize these seals, it's a variation on the types priests or priestess used to combat or seal away demons," Naruto rubbed at his chin as he stared back at the large fox demon, "why should I free you if you're just going to kill me?"

A low growl escaped the demon as it replied, "fine, I give you my word I will not kill you."

"Your word?" Naruto questioned non-believingly "How should I know if your word could be trusted?"

"You little," the creature calmed down, closing its eyes before speaking, "I will tell you a little secret about us kitsunes, if we break our word, we will endure suffering, and pain is something I do not wish to live with, now release me."

Naruto shook his head, "no."

"What!" The creature barked out as Naruto could feel a soul pulse of dark chakra come from the fox.

"I cannot have you destroying my village either," Naruto started walking away, "the way I see it, whoever placed this on you deemed you to be a threat, I should make sure the seals stay strong."

As Naruto was turning away, the demon's ears sagged as his eyes looked down, "I was attacked and bounded here," Naruto stopped before glancing back at the demon who appeared to be in great turmoil, "I am a kitsune that follows its own path, others won't help me, but I am still bound by my kin's laws."

Naruto stared at it curiously before taking a seat, he asked, "what kind of kitsune are you?"

The creature seemed more settled as it answered, "out of the celestial kins that follow Inari and the void kitsunes who follow the laws established by the ten tailed Lady, I am a wild kitsune or a Wind kitsune," it stared down at the boy whose body wasn't even matching the size of its head, "I cannot ask for help but I can tell you this," its face moved closer to the boy, "release me and you will earn my trust and loyalty," its red eyes stared into the boy's blue ones, "with my word, I will form a bond with you, now release me."

Naruto hesitantly stood up, staring at the creature before turning to the seal, "so you swear upon it, everything you say?"

The creature nodded as Naruto held a breath and wondered if he was doing the right thing, "ok," he formed several seals before sucking in his breath as the giant kitsune watched, its eyes hopeful, "dragon fire technique," Naruto blew out a stream of fire towards the seals…

…**Scene change…**

"The boy," the ninja whispered harshly to the others as they appeared in the room, "he's not here."

There was a squirming noise under one of the ninja's arms as a young Hyuuga heiress was seen, bounded and held as prisoner.

"Never mind," the leader out of the three turned outside "we need to leave; it is a matter of time before…"

They heard noises coming from outside as the ninjas nodded to each other before exiting the manor…

…**Scene Change…**

The Hokage heard the noises from outside as he stared out his window, "What's going on?" he said as suddenly several ninjas entered his office, he stared at them.

"Sir," one of them spoke, "we've already started searching but the Hyuuga daughter has been kidnapped."

Minato widened his eyes, "what, did you manage to trace their chakra?"

He nodded, "I am sorry sir but," he looked away ashamed, "the last trace we found was them heading towards your manor," Minato stood back, his heart stopped momentarily as the ninja stared up at him, "Naruto is also missing."

The Hokage clenched his fists before yelling out, "I want all ninjas to search for the kidnappers, don't lose sight of them do you understand, now go, go!"

They disappeared as Minato closed his eyes, if he caught up to these ninjas, he would make them pay. He disappeared in a golden flash.

…**Scene Change…**

Naruto awoke to the sound of a stream nearby. His hand grabbed his head as he wondered if he had been sleep walking again. He sat up, staring around at the dead leaves around him and the river that splashed with such a current that seemed so strong.

"Was that a dream?" he asked himself before he heard a giggle come from the dark forest in front of him.

He stood up, his arms out, preparing to attack if needed as from the darkness, something unexpected walked out.

It was a face of beauty as her exotic eyes entrapped Naruto. She swayed her way towards the boy as her lips smiled delicately. Her hair was blood red which matched her slit eyes and luscious lips while her dark kimono depicted of flowers and leaves.

"I see you like what you see?" her laugh was smooth and addicting as Naruto shook his head.

"Who are you?" he questioned, watching as she raised a brow.

"Do you not remember earlier?" her voice was enthralling as Naruto found himself snapping out of it before widening his eyes.

"Wait a minute," he stood there, slack jawed, and spoke "you're a girl?"

The creature laughed again, "neither," she suddenly appeared behind the boy, startling him as she placed her head down his shoulder. He flinched, moving away as she laughed again, "I am a demon, nothing more. Most of my kind prefer the role of a seductress, most people fall for it, weak minded men, or," it changed its appearance, changing into a male opposite of the beauty he just saw.

His voice became dark and crisped, "my powers have dimmed somewhat but, it will be restored in a few days."

Naruto preferred this look better; it didn't distract him as the creature suddenly stared at him, "so what now?" Naruto questioned as the creature seemingly sighed before replying.

"Now I guess I have to keep my word," his eyes glowed as they met Naruto's own, mesmerizing him as Naruto's eyes turned into slits and he felt a brief pain pass through him.

"Done," the creature stopped as Naruto fell to his knees, he felt a burning pain in his body as he stared up at the demon.

"W-what was that?" he questioned as the demon chuckled.

"Call upon me when you need help, otherwise," the demon waved off, "I'll be in my realm."

"Wait," Naruto saw the demon create some sort of portal before stopping and staring back at the boy.

"What is your name?"

The creature raised a brow before speaking, "you have not earned the right to know my real name," before Naruto could object, the demon spoke, "just call me as I am, a nine tailed demon fox or for short, Kyuubi," it turned back to the portal, disappearing as Naruto nodded, a bit excited at his new alliance.

The boy soon stood up with his body already adapting to the prickle of pain he felt. He soon decided to call it a night and head home, things were getting exciting for him, he wondered what this bargain would do for him in the future.

There was movement up ahead the river as Naruto heard low yelling. He looked up, spotting several ninjas who suddenly stopped to a halt in front of him, staring in disbelief at the boy as Naruto wondered who these people were.

He heard a muffled gasped before spotting Hinata bounded and being carried by one of the ninjas.

"Enemy ninjas," he spoke as his body tensed and his stance grew hostile.

"And to think we found the boy on our escape," the one who seemed in charge chuckled before signaling one of his men forward, "hurry up and take that brat."

"Alright," the big one stepped up, cracking his knuckles, "come here," he moved forward as Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Release," he spoke as the ninjas sensed a chakra spike and the boy disappeared in front of his eyes.

"What, where," they stared in shock at the speed as the boy appeared in front of the large ninja, his arms reaching back before slamming forward. The blow knocked the ninja back as Naruto flipped forward, jumped on the large man's head, kicked off, and landed next to the ninja who held Hinata.

"Why you," the captor of the girl lifted one arm up, striking towards the boy.

Naruto shifted, dodging the strike, planting his fist deeply inside the enemy's guts, watching as the ninja coughed out while he grabbed Hinata and blurred out, appearing several steps away from them before freeing the teary eyed girl.

"Naruto, how?" she asked, shocked at the way he moved as Naruto shook his head, staring as the enemy ninjas were collecting themselves.

"Weaklings the lot of you," the one in charge spoke in irritation before stepping forward, "both of you, move at once to get them back."

The big one didn't respond as they both turned back to him, "did you hear me!"

Once the large one turned to face them, his eyes were wide with the rest of them. Somehow, the boy had planted a sort of seal that stuck the man's mouth together. It was recognized to be an exploding note while Naruto who watched only uttered one word to activate it.

"Boom"

The note exploded as Naruto shielded Hinata, using his body for cover as chunks of the earth flew past them and when the ringing of the explosion stopped in their ears did they finally rise from their position.

Hinata looked at the scene, her face inches from Naruto's who stared back, she blushed, her mouth quivering as her body shook, "N-Naruto, I'm s-scared," Naruto held her tighter as they both stood up, he tried to comfort her, "w-why is my whole body shaking?"

"It's alright Hinata," Naruto spoke softly before his eyes narrowed, he pushed the girl away as a tentacle suddenly appeared, wrapping around Naruto as Hinata gasped at what arose from the scene.

It was the leader; his skin was dark as tentacles replaced his arms. He stared at the boy in irritation, "to think I would have to use the curse seal now at all times," Naruto was suddenly slammed to the floor, he coughed out in pain as Hinata tried to go to his aide.

"No Hinata," Naruto stared up at her, one eye opened as he pained from the tightness he felt around his chest, "go, run!" he was slammed again, this time; a rock collided with his forehead as blood seeped out from the wound, "Hinata," he yelled out with both his eyes closed, "Go!"

Hinata watched the scene, her eyes tearing as she turned around, closing her eyes as tears fell down her cheek, "please hold on Naruto, I'll get help."

She started running off, quickly as she could as the enemy ninja smirked, "I don't think so," he shot his other tentacle arm towards the girl as Naruto could only call upon his ally.

"Kyuubi!" he yelled out before he felt a pulse flow inside him. Time stopped as he observed the tentacles around the ninja freeze at several angles. His body felt a rush of energy.

Kyuubi whispered into his mind, 'I will lend you my power mortal, I'm just surprised it was so soon…' it chuckled as time suddenly returned to place.

"You're mine," the tentacle moved forward, inches away from the running girl. Naruto roared out, ripping away from the tentacle hand that held him.

"AHH!" the ninja yelled, retracting his arm and holding on to the blood that poured out, "my arm!"

He glared back at the child before spotting the feral look on his face as blood dripped from its clawed hands. The boy had changed completely, as if it was possessed or transformed into another being.

"A demon," the enemy ninja gasped before narrowing his eyes as his arm glowed, changing back to a human shape, "let's see who's stronger brat."

No sooner had the ninja finished his words, the child had disappeared. He suddenly found himself coughing up spurts of blood from his mouth, without realizing where it came from. Then, he glanced below him, the child was there, or at least, the clawed hand of the child that stuck out through his stomach with the child at the back. His eyes soon lost his vision as things became darker to see.

"W-what," Naruto took his arm out of the body as the demonic feeling inside him had disappeared. The body fell to the floor as Naruto started to shake while staring at his blood soaked hand. It was his first kill, every feel, touch, and sensation of it. He couldn't describe it as he felt the tears starting to form in his eyes.

The body turned to its full normal human shape as Naruto watched on, and crept closer to it.

"D-demon," the ninja gasped out and struggle for a moment as Naruto watched the ninja's hand touch his chest, "die."

Naruto didn't expect it when suddenly; there was a huge explosion that rocked the area…

Hinata turned back, she stopped on her run, "NARUTO!" she thought the worst as several ninjas appeared, taking hold of the girl.

"No, let go," she struggled as the ninja released, one speaking.

"Miss Hyuuga please calm down, it's us," Hinata stared up, spotting the Hyuuga guards from the manor before she felt relieved. She turned back to the explosion, "Please, go help Naruto," she pleaded as the guards nodded, one taking her back as the others moved to the scene….

Naruto felt numb as he felt himself drifting in something wet, he couldn't feel his body that moved in the currents or the loss of blood leaking out from his wounds. All he knew was tiredness, he wanted to sleep, as if he had used up all his energy, so, he let the river carry him away as it also rocked his body to sleep as he dreamed of many things…


	2. A Ninja Among the Farmers

Ch2

**Note: Sand Suna, Leaf Konoha, they mean the same ok.**

* * *

They sensed the impending doom as the ninjas walked in silence across the hallway. The one in charge told them to halt as he let out a sigh while staring down at the cloth fragment of the Hokage's son's suspected clothing.

With the mask that covered his face and the hiate that covered one eye, it was Kakashi Hatake who was chosen to break the news to their strong leader that his son might be dead.

The ninjas who stood under their captain's guide couldn't really tell what facial expression was on their captain. They watched as he took in a couple of breathes before straightening up and walking inside of the office…

"Minato be patient," Jiraiya stood by his student's side, placing his hand on the caped shoulder of the Fourth Hokage while the Third Hokage stood on the other, a look of grief on his face, "you didn't see the site, the report should come in any moment."

The door opened as the three strongest ninjas in the room quickly glanced at the messenger.

Kakashi inwardly gulped as he watched his leaders, breaking the news to them would be harder, "Sir, the report," Kakashi sucked in his breathe, he would tell his sensei everything, he owed him.

Minato stared up at Kakashi as the ninjas in the room could spot the black rings around Minato's eyes, caused by the night of worry and lack of a day's sleep. They saw that their leader couldn't talk, only tiredly nod towards Kakashi.

"We have found residue of explosives found on the…" Kakashi seemed hesitant and they noticed it, "pieces of bodies at the scene."

"Pieces?" Jiraiya questioned, this did not look good, "there were explosives on all three ninjas?"

Out of sheer authority, Kakashi nodded as the room temperature suddenly dropped, "we are still trying to locate the entire pieces missing," Kakashi stared down, "these ninjas were on mission were being captured was unacceptable."

"An explosion that big," the Third Hokage whispered before asking, "Any clue as of right now where these ninjas came from?"

The Guard captain sighed before shaking his head and explaining, "no hiates or pieces of them, their clothes where standard gear nothing noticeable at least that is what we can tell as of right now, it is still being processed."

They all then stared at the blonde haired leader, his eyes staring down at his desk, a picture that lay flat on the table, there was only one question left, and they all knew what it was.

"Get on with it."

The order, the way Minato had spoken, he had given up and they all knew he had.

"This," Kakashi took out a cloth of what appeared to be an orange cloth, "is all we found that belonged to Naruto."

Minato stared at the cloth, he recognized it as one of Naruto's favorite shirt, at least, that much he knew about his son. His hand took it from Kakashi's before placing it by his sides, "did you at least find the body?"

"Minato," Jiraiya protested, "he might still be alive, you do…"

Minato glared up at him, shutting him up as he spoke in a low voice, "Naruto never did well in school, wasn't the best ninja in the academy, all his trainers told me he was below average in dodging, fighting, endurance, and ninja techniques," he lifted up the cloth in his hand towards Jiraiya, his hands shaking, "how can I believe he is alive when three ninjas who are much stronger than my son could not even survive this blast," he threw the cloth on his desk before turning around, "I am a ninja, this is the ninja world, I must face the facts and live with the truth."

"Minato no," Jiraiya stood by his sides, "you can't give up, maybe some way he survived."

"Just like Kushina?" Minato glared back at the man, watching as he flinched before he turned away, speaking in a deadly voice, "Kakashi, find out all you can, at least find the pieces of my son," Minato stood strait, facing away from all of them as they stared in shock at what he was saying.

"Mina…" Jiraiya tried again.

"Jiraiya no," Minato's voice interrupted, it was firm and resolved as the ninjas in the room flinched, "just get out,"

They tried again but Minato spoke louder, his voice becoming angry, "Kakashi you have your orders now leave."

They all stared down before exiting the room, leaving their leader to stare out into his village through the glass. As the doors closed, a tear Minato had been holding fell as he closed his eyes, "Kushina," he opened his eyes, dull misty blue that stared into the village, "I'm sorry," his hand reached up, covering his face…

They were ordered to leave but they stood near the door, Kakashi staring down as Jiraiya and the elder Sarutobi stood by each other's side.

"Let him grieve," the third Hokage spoke as the others agreed.

Jiraiya glanced back at the door, his eyes concerned for his student who had lost his wife now his son, "I just hope his heart doesn't grow cold."

…**Scene Change…**

It was a small little wagon with one horse pulling it across the bumpy path. A little girl stared down at the unconscious boy with bandages over his body, especially the one covering his head as he lay on the straw hay they were carrying in bundles. She watched as one of his eyes begun to open as the little girl smiled and turned back to the driver, "Grand pa, he's waking!" she said in excitement as she watched the boy's eye lids slowly lifted.

Naruto felt throbbing pain from his body as he opened his eyes. There was bright light in the air, a small breeze as he felt as if he was moving. He was becoming tired again, especially against the comfy thing he had no idea what he lay on. "Trees?" he whispered as he saw the shades from the trees that hovered over whatever it was he was on pass by him, blocking and unblocking the sunlight before a girl that seemed around his age stuck her face in front of his, smiling.

"Hey mister, you ok?" she asked, staring at the boy in concern.

"Where am I?" he asked not sure as he didn't even bother trying to sit up.

"Young man," Naruto heard another voice but he couldn't turn to see the face, he knew he was there though.

"You are in Vegetable country," Naruto seemed surprise for a moment before quickly tiring once again, "rest, we'll arrive in the village soon," the old man's voice reassured the boy as Naruto nodded slightly, closing his eyes.

"Hey mister, what's your name?" the girl asked as Naruto opened one eye, spotting as she sat next to him. He managed to get a closer look on her face, it was petite and long as her brown hair covered her forehead and the sides of her ears while he spotted a giant red ribbon probably tied as a ponytail behind the girl. He glanced at her dark chocolate eyes before closing his own, "its Naruto," she nodded as Naruto asked, "yours?"

She seemed surprised before smiling, "it's Momiji."

Naruto grinned as he felt himself falling asleep, "Momiji, my savior," he said as the girl blushed from embarrassment before he fell asleep.

…**Scene Change…**

Kakashi waited outside the door, waiting for the results from the body parts they had uncovered. The best autopsies and hunter ninjas have been working on the scene ever since the late night when it all had happened. Not only did they all want to know what kind of ninja would dare do this but if Naruto was in there.

The door opened as Kakashi stood strait, staring as a male person stepped out wearing the basic medical outfit a doctor would while holding on to a brown parchment before stopping and facing the captain.

"Well?" Kakashi asked as the person shook his head.

"Sir but, the bodies, they don't have any prints, bone markings, or oral cavity for which we could use," Kakashi widened his eyes, wondering how this was possible, "the explosion made sure to wipe out any traces of the ninja's identity. There are flames or melting markings that seems to have spread through the body, my theory, it was some sort of liquid fire or an acid base suicidal explosion that concentrates more on destroying a person's identity than just the basic explosions."

"I see," Kakashi pondered seriously, whoever these ninjas worked for, they really didn't want to get caught, "then your opinion, what would happen if someone was near this explosion?"

"The Hokage's son I take it."

Kakashi nodded in gloom, it seemed this person knew as well.

He shook his head, "my opinion, any one near this explosion will end up just like these ninjas."

"What did you say," the captain's eyes widened as he stared at the serious expression on this person's face.

"The fire or acid from this attack will keep spreading unless there is some source to wipe it out, if not, it will continue disintegrating the body, leaving something untraceable," Kakashi watched as the person rubbed their head as if they had pondered over this for a while, "The boy's body may already be here, but without knowing a way to figuring it out who these people are then I don't know."

Kakashi leaned on the wall, his hand on top of his whitish grey hair, "oh man, so Naruto could be, dead?"He knew he had to report this and most likely with the Hokage's given attitude at the moment, they would classify the son as deceased…

…**Several Hours Later…**

Away from the academy, she sat on her bed from the manor, staring out into the window before she heard a knock. Quickly standing up, she ran to her door, opening it while spotting the messenger. Her eyes looked up hopefully before spotting the Hyuuga's gloomed face.

He whispered softly into her ears, watching as her eyes widened, new tears sprouting out as she fell to her knees, gasping with her hands covering her face as she bowed low. The Hyuuuga messenger stared down sadly, listening to her sob as he placed his hand on her shoulder, bowing his head in gloom with the girl.

Hiashi stood by the stairs, staring out into the hallway before walking away, 'the marriage is cancelled,' he closed his eyes before walking away…

Tenten sighed while listening to her sensei's speech. The topic was on history, something she didn't care at the moment. She stared out of the class room, watching as the sun shined through and seemed to be irritating some of the students who were trying to take notes, it brought a smile to her face as the yellow rays of sun reminded her of a certain blonde haired boy. She placed the end of her writing utensil near her lips, biting down as she remembered yesterday, 'I wonder if we'll actually train today,' she thought with slight anticipation before a sad look appeared. 'Arranged marriage,' she sighed before twirling her writing instrument in her hands 'to be forced to do something, he really despised it.'

The door opened, interrupting the instructor as a ninja appeared in the doorway. Tenten watched curiously along with the class as their sensei approached the messenger, exchanging words in a low tone of voice.

It was only a few minutes as they seemed finished, her sensei seemed sad for some reason as he closed the door before turning to the class.

"There was a kidnapping attempt last night on the Hyuuga Lord's daughter…"

Tenten stared in surprise, wasn't that the girl Naruto was supposed to marry?

"…and the Hokage's son…"

'What!' Tenten widened her eyes as several others around the school where receiving the same message.

"From what we know, Naruto freed himself, stayed to fight off the ninjas while Hinata escaped," Tenten didn't realize she was holding onto her desk as her sensei paused before sighing, "as of right now, the Hokage's son is dead…" her pencil fell to the floor as her heart momentarily stopped.

"He can't be dead!" the class stared in surprise as they watched the hair bun girl in class stand up, her eyes staring at the teacher in disbelief, "that idiot wouldn't get himself killed!"

"Tenten," their sensei stared at her sadly, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, but there will be a funeral for the child, the Hokage had already arranged it.

Tenten stood there as she heard the words, she still couldn't believe it, she just saw the boy yesterday, she remembered what he said to her, what he wanted from life.

"Tenten," she stared up, not realizing she was still standing in front of the whole class while their sensei could only stare at her with comforting eyes.

"I don't believe it," she spoke as she suddenly felt her eyes tearing, she remembered his smiles, the small flirts, his kind and soft attitude, "I won't," she ran off, jumping out of the window as their sensei could only sigh at the girl…

Iruka stood there, staring down at his desk as the whole class wondered what was wrong. He seemed to remember where he was before smiling at his class and taking his place in front of the chalk board, 

writing words on the board. Naruto was a student of his, it was painful for a sensei to lose a pupil but he knew how much potential was in the boy, he continued to write as if nothing had changed but the class could tell otherwise.

…**Scene Change…**

He could feel the warmth from the air as his body shifted on the straw mattress. His eyes opened as he pained himself sitting up.

"Uh, my head," he rubbed at his forehead, surprised at the bandages he felt before staring at his left arm, "what?" dark burnt wounds spread from his shoulder, ending to his hand before he looked down on his chest. The burn continued from his left shoulder, covering half his chest and just slightly off his stomach. He remembered that night, that surprise explosion and the burning pain he felt. He looked around the room; it looked like a hut as he spotted a set of robes next to him. He grabbed it, changing into them before trying to find out where he was…

The curtains from the small hut opened, revealing the injured Naruto who took a glimpse on his surroundings, "Where am I?" his eyes widened spotting the rural terrain.

This was a village filled with huts as he spotted friendly faces, smiling at each other in greeting going about their day. Some had animals following them, caged chickens, and if he looked further out, there where rows and rows of rice and vegetation fields. He had a feeling he wasn't near his village anymore.

"Oh, you're awake," Naruto heard the familiar feminine voice as he turned to his right, spotting a girl that looked familiar. "Naruto right?" she asked, staring up at him in confusion as Naruto nodded before remembering when he first opened his injured eyes.

"Momiji?" he asked as she seemed to smile, nodding her head.

"You remembered," she grabbed onto his hand, "come, I have to show you to grand pa and grand ma," she started tugging his hand as Naruto followed while still glancing around the village.

She led him through the dusty streets; the small crowd greeted them friendly, some throwing him curious glances as Naruto had to smile the best he can, ignoring the lingering of pain. He soon fell in step with the excited girl, enjoying her enthusiasm as he felt his limbs become more relax, as if he wasn't injured in the first place.

They soon exited to a different part of the village as Naruto soon spotted the tall golden wheat in the fields.

There were several others on the field, slicing and packing the wheat into stacks before the girl brought him out onto the road.

"Hmm he should be…" she pondered for a moment as Naruto stared down at her, spotting the look on her face before chuckling, she stared up curiously at that.

"Little Momi, what are you doing out here?" it was an old soft voice that came from behind as they turned back, spotting a resting bench as an old lady sat, staring at them in surprise as she fanned herself with her straw hat.

"Grand ma," she greeted, leaving Naruto to watch curiously as she ran up to her.

Moments later, they settled down, each one sitting on the bench as they stared out into the field.

"So I'm in vegetable country?" Naruto asked as the old lady or this girl's grandmother, nodded, pointing at a huge estate across the fields on top of a large hill surrounded by trees and flowers.

"That is our capital city," she smiled as she patted her granddaughter, we are just one of the outer villages, farming is what we mainly do to supply the capital but we don't mind," Naruto stared back curiously, "our country may not be as wealthy as others but we get by. Our daimyo is a kind man and it is sad to hear the death of his wife but we all know he is a loving man to his daughter, he provides protection to the outer villages so we all do our part."

Naruto watched ahead in the fields, remembering what he could about this location. 'They might share a boundary with Fire country,' he thought before his eyes became momentarily distracted, 'but should I go back now?' this was an opportunity he must have wanted, free from his village without having the consequences of a missing ninja but is he being selfish, surely someone cared if he was gone.

"Now young man, where do you come from?"

Naruto faced her, inwardly still debating before shaking his head, "I don't know."

There was a surprised expression on her face as she nodded, "oh you poor thing, you can stay with us until you heal your wounds."

The ninja of the leaf stared down at his hands; it didn't feel as if he was that hurt. It was weird actually, he thought he would be more injured than this, to prove it, he stood up moving parts of his body as Momiji and her grandmother stared at him curiously.

"Hey Momiji," Naruto asked, stretching back as she tilted her head curiously, "thank you again for saving me."

She blushed staring down, "well it was my grand pa who bandaged you," she stared at his hand, spotting the burnt marks, "he said you were lucky, it seemed the river drenched whatever was burning you."

Naruto stared at his hand again, "yeah, I was," he looked back intot he field before speaking, "I don't want to just take advantage of your hospitality," he smiled, staring at their surprised faces, "let me help out a little…"

With a few protests that Naruto quickly eased, they directed him to the field as he helped the old lady harvest the grains. Momiji joined as well, helping the group as Naruto joined the others who were on the field. He met Momiji's grandfather, thanking him before helping out the best he could. It was what 

he could do for these people, until he would heal, he would rather work than be a burden, it just wasn't in him to sit around and do nothing.

Even as afternoon approached, he was still on the field, slicing away and tying the wheat together as the others sat in the sidelines and watched.

"Naruto, take a break," It was Momiji's grandfather as Naruto turned back, waving towards them.

"I can still go on, don't worry about it," he tied another stack as the group of adults and old men and woman chuckled.

"Where did you find this kid," one of them asked.

"At this rate, we'll finish it by the end of tomorrow,"

"Aye, he should be resting not working," it was the grandmother of Momiji who continued to watch the boy work, "but he feels as if he owes us."

"Well," one of the adults stood up, "not going to get beat by a kid," he placed his straw hat on before taking up his scythe, "I think I can do a little bit more."

A few chuckled as they continued to rest, "he looks like a hard working man, he'll be a fine catch when he grows older…"

Naruto wiped at his forehead as he stared up at the sun. It helped him think of what he would do next, he was out of his village, he would either return back to the academy and be suppressed by the laws of the village, or he could see where his adventures take him in this world. He sighed, 'what should I do?'

He felt a tug on his kimono before turning around and spotting Momiji. She offered him a pouch of water, "you must be thirsty."

Naruto smiled, taking the pouch and thanking the girl before taking a sip. His ears picked up a noise as he turned to the direction on the road. He placed the drink to his side, wiping his mouth as he spotted a pretty fancy carriage. The girl seemed to have noticed as well, "who is that?" he asked her.

She watched as the carriage travelled through the road, even passing by them, she explained, "that's the daimyo's daughter," Naruto turned to stare at her as she continued, "near the outskirts of this village, there is a hill of flowers that she always visits," Momiji smiled up at Naruto, "you should see it, it's really beautiful."

"Heh, I guess I should see it one day," it sounded interesting to him, he had never seen a hill of flowers in his village, "well, would you like to be my guide some time," he asked as the girl looked up at him and smiled.

"You bet."

Naruto went back to work, temporarily ignoring what he should do and just maybe relax for a few days.

**...Minutes Earlier…**

She stared out of her carriage she seemed saddened for a moment as the two guards in front of her noticed. Both of them carried swords attached to a sheath behind them, one had a rugged narrow face with brown hair as the other had a chubbier face with blackish grey hair.

"Miss Haruna, what's wrong?" the chubbier guard asked.

She sighed while staring out the window, "it's nothing Yurinojou."

Yurinojou turned to his partner, his face hinting to ask her as the partner sighed.

"Miss Haruna, we know there is something on your mind," he spoke in comfort, "please, tell us what's the matter."

Haruna glanced back at them briefly before staring out again, "Yurinojou, Kikunojou, how long have you been with me."

They straitened up as Yurinojou answered, "we've been with you ever since you where a child."

"Yes," Haruna said before sighing once again, "I'm just worried about father, why is he sending me so soon?"

Kikunojou answered, "Miss it is a matter of diplomacy, he cares deeply for you well being."

"And besides," Yurinojou added, "you are not leaving until the end of this month."

They watched as her shoulder sagged, that was why they were visiting the flower patch, after she leaves, she wouldn't see them in a long while. She watched the villagers that harvested the grain, not much was working out it seemed since it was already the afternoon, they should be taking a break.

She spotted one in the fields, 'he's so young,' she thought watching as he seemed confused as he stared at her carriage. She had never seen him before working in the fields, 'must be new,' she thought as they passed by…

As the sun soon started setting, the villagers working in the hot fields had to load up their harvests onto several carriages. With so much work done today, they had quite a haul as many of them helped each other lift them up onto the back of the carriages.

Naruto stood in the sides next to the girl and her grandmother. They protested to him helping since they were still worried about his injuries and they were thankful enough for all his work.

"Wow we made a lot today," Momiji spoke out, watching as the wagons seemed full for the first time as their grandfather chuckled and approached.

"True, we can store it all in the village's farm house," he smiled, turning to Naruto, "and it seems we might not have to work hard tomorrow."

"I see," Naruto nodded, watching as the wagons started heading off.

"Tomorrow, let Momiji take you around the village," the old man said with a smile, "you've certainly earned it."

The blonde haired boy stared at him before turning to the girl who held on to his hand, she smiled up at him as he nodded.

As soon as all the wagons left with the load, they decided to head home and rest, it was a long day and especially for the two old bodies, they needed the rest. "Oh dear," Momiji's grandmother seemed startled as she pointed towards the field. The group looked at what she was pointing at as she spoke, "they seem to have forgotten those two stacks."

The old man scratched at his head, "Well, it seems like a waste if it stays here," he looked towards the village, "let me see if I can get one of them to come back."

"It's alright," Naruto was already near the supplies, "I'll bring them to the farm."

The grandfather chuckled, "now now, you can't possibly…"

They stared in shock as the boy lifted one in each hand, balancing it on both his shoulders before turning back to them.

"My word," the grandmother stared slack jawed along with the rest of them as Momiji walked up towards him.

"Wow, you're not normal," she stared up at awe as Naruto shrugged before asking.

"Could you show me the way?"

She nodded, still amazed as she led the way, Naruto glancing back at the two old folks, "we'll meet you back at your home," he spoke before turning back and following the girl.

They could only nod their head before staring at each other, the older male spoke, "you know what this means right?"

She nodded, staring back at the boy who was smiling at their granddaughter, "he is so young and kind though, it's hard to believe he is one of them."

The old man nodded as they watched them off…

The orange skies reflected how night was near, the village people returning from the harvest or setting up their small shops or homes. Those who stood out watched in surprise at the new comer being led by a child. It was nothing out of the ordinary except he was lifting two big wheat stacks as if it was nothing, it was a site indeed.

Naruto stared down at the little girl, a question in his mind as he ignored the whispers from the villagers, "Momiji," he called to her as she glanced back at him curiously.

"Do you mind me asking but, where are you parents?"

A pained expression appeared as she turned around back towards the path. Naruto saw her sag her shoulders as she stared down at the ground, "I'm sorry I asked," he apologized as she shook her head staring ahead again before staying quiet. Naruto felt bad as the walk suddenly became awkward before she pointed to a barn up ahead.

He saw the wagons from earlier unloading the supplies before he thanked her and ran off towards them. He surprised several of them as he dropped off wheat before running back to the girl who waited quietly.

Nothing was said as they continued their journey to the girl's house but Naruto continued to feel bad for what he had asked, he wondered if he should have just kept his mouth shut.

It was a night of lessons for Naruto as they returned home. He ate their meal they made for him and even volunteered to wash up afterwards, but all through they noticed how quiet the little girl had gotten and Naruto was left blaming himself as he was soon laying on his mattress in the guest room. He sighed, they show good hospitality and here he goes, ruining it. He closed his eyes, hoping he would make the girl smile tomorrow before he went to sleep…

A pigeon flew from the skies, entering the village, heading towards an inn located at the center of the village before landing on the window silt.

"A message," he said surprised before gently handling the bird and unlatching the small parchment.

"Kikunojou what's that you got there?" his partner asked entering the room.

"Some sort of message Yurinojou," he replied before opening the letter and reading its context.

His eyes brows shot up as a shocked look appeared on his face, "we've lost the village settlement to the east."

"What, how?" Yurinojou ran to his partner reading the message as Kikunojou re-read it.

Kikunojou crumpled it before burning the parchment, "damned bandits," he stood up, fixing his sword as his partner followed, "it seems they might attack this village next, we must prepare," he stared at his partner, "stay here and watch the Daimyo's daughter, we should be receiving more troops by the next morning. It seems we have a change of plan, after the daughter is done; we need to take her out of this country at once."

Yurinojou nodded before asking, "But what do we tell her?"

His partner stopped near the doorway, "as of right now nothing, if the bandits do attack, we must tell her understood?"

He nodded as Kikunojou left to inform the village and make preparations…

…**Early the next morning…**

Naruto's ears twitched as he picked up familiar voices speaking.

"A bandit attack, here?" her voice was alarmed as Naruto opened his eyes, wondering what was going on but choosing to remain quiet.

"Yes," it was the old man's voice, "we have to pack up our items, it is not safe for Momiji anymore, we have to return to the other settlement."

The old lady sighed, "But she was born here, I just can't believe we have to leave again."

There was a patting sound that seemed like he was comforting the old lady, "but what about the young boy, surely we cannot leave him?" it was her voice as Naruto twitched listening as the man responded.

"I wasn't thinking of it, he can come with us, but we must not tell them anything until they come back from the flower fields," he sighed, "at least let us hope there is no attack by then."

There was a muffled noise as they stopped talking, her heard the old man speak, "shh, she's waking."

Naruto heard the footsteps gather and leave the house, probably to prepare food or some sort.

"Can I really go with them?" Naruto whispered, he had to chose his own path now, return home, or walk his own path. His ears twitched again before he sat up, spotting the girl who stood near the chain beaded opening to his room.

"Momiji?" he questioned, watching as the girl rubbed at her eyes and to him, it seemed she had just awoken.

"Hey Naruto," she looked down as he stared back curiously, "does that hurt?"

She pointed at the burn scars she spotted on Naruto's bare back as the said person blinked his eyes in surprise, it didn't hurt at all, "no, it doesn't."

She nodded, a small smile on her face as she turned around and started to leave, "hey," Naruto spoke as she stopped before turning around, spotting his smirk, "we still going to the fields of flower?"

She appeared surprised before smiling and nodding in response.

"I'm glad," he responded while lying back down as Momiji blushed in response before leaving.

Naruto smiled, 'at least she's smiling again,' he thought before closing his eyes.

It was an hour later when Naruto exited the home with Momiji in tow. Just like he had heard them, they acted as if nothing was wrong and inwardly, he grew worried for this village.

"Come Naruto!"

Naruto was suddenly pulled by his hand forward. He had to smile at the excited look on Momiji's face as he chuckled humorously and fell into step with the girl.

Later they walked in a more timely pace as Naruto had to observe that everyone seemed to be packing. He spotted several soldiers arrive, most wielding swords and others arrows, it looked as if there was going to be a war soon.

"Wow, everyone is so busy this morning," Momiji commented staring around curiously as Naruto stumbled.

"Y-yeah," he replied awkwardly before taking hold of the girl's hand with a serious face, "stick with me Momi," he smiled down at her, watching as her face flushed, "ok?"

She nodded before walking slowly as she led the way to the fields.

They soon exited the village as Naruto had a brief view of the area they were headed towards. Momiji suddenly released, "Come on, we're almost there," she giggled as she ran towards the field, Naruto laughing as he ran after her.

The girl stopped in front of the large hill before pointing to the others side as Naruto stopped next to her, "that's where we have to go to reach it," Naruto stared up his mind pondering, "unless you want to climb that but you have to be crazy," she saw the pondering expression on Naruto's face as she wondered what he was thinking.

'Hm, chakra jumps and the sticking technique should work, but if I'm lucky I'll get it in one leap,' he thought before feeling a tug on his kimono as he stared down at the girl.

"Are you listening to me?" she asked, pouting as Naruto chuckled before kneeling down.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Huh?" she stared back at him, wondering why he would ask that.

"I asked if you trust me?" he smiled before extending his arms out.

She blushed, turning away, "y-yeah Naruto, I do."

She suddenly felt herself lifted as she stared in surprise as Naruto held her up against his chest; she grew red at the contact.

"W-what are you doing?"

Naruto smirked before placing her behind his back, "hang on tight ok?"

She nodded, still curious as she placed her arms around his neck and Naruto leaned low with a feral grin on his face, "off we GO!"

Suddenly she felt the pressure increase as she closed her eyes, she felt like she was being pushed down by the winds before suddenly it stopped.

She peeked open one eye before widening them both, "OHAHHH!" she screamed as her hold on Naruto's neck tightened.

"H-how are we so high up!" she screamed out, watching from below as they were suddenly slowly falling onto the field.

"Momi," she heard his whisper as she stared at Naruto's face, he seemed to be choking as he gasped out, "too tight."

"Oh," she slightly released but still kept firm as they were returning to the flowery ground, "sorry."

Naruto chuckled as he finally landed; he felt her hand tighten again which was a good idea if she didn't want to fall.

"You're right," he said as he placed her down. She fell to her knees, panting as if glad to be on the floor. Naruto seemed calmed as he stared at the endless rows of flowers, "this place is beautiful."

Naruto then noticed the girl before helping her up with an apologetic face.

"T-that was," she was at a loss for breath as Naruto smiled sheepishly. She shook it off before standing strait again; her eyes stared at the flower fields as Naruto watched an emotion flicker in her eyes.

She walked along the flower patch, her eyes closed as her hands stretched out, touching each one as Naruto followed from behind, wondering how many different kinds of flowers there were.

She continued for only a few more minutes until she stopped walking. This surprised Naruto as he stopped too, wondering what was wrong.

"Remember when you asked me about my parents?" she asked as Naruto suddenly felt bad.

"Listen, you don't have to answer."

She shook her head, "no, my grandparents say it isn't good to keep things bottled inside."

She stared down at one of the flowers, her hand gently touching the petals, "I was told that they died," a Naruto turned away, "they told me they died so I can escape," she stared up at the fields, "it was in this village that they died."

Naruto glanced back to the village, saddened at thought for the little girl; he turned back, watching as she froze in spot. He moved closer, watching as her eyes seemed so pained, "my grand pa said there was a bandit attack, that's all he would tell me," she stared at the flowers, her eyes moist, "it was a long time but I do remember something about this place, every time I come here," she closed her eyes, sniffing the scent of the flowers as she placed her hands to her chest, "I remember seeing someone, they smile and I remember the scent of her hair," she opened her eyes as a tear escaped, "it was my mother, then I 

would see my father run across the field, chasing a grass hopper," she smiled sadly as a small giggle escaped her throat and she was lost in thought again.

Naruto smiled sadly for the girl, he moved close, placing a hand on her shoulder as she suddenly opened her eyes as stared up at him.

"Thank you for telling me," he knelt down, smiling softly as he wiped away her tears with one hand, "this place, you must have came here a lot with your parents," he glanced at the fields around them, "it's a place of happy memories, I am pretty sure your parents wouldn't want to see you crying, right?" he grinned down at her as she froze in spot, her mouth quivered as her eyes became moist again.

She leaped forward, hugging Naruto as she cried into his shoulder. He was surprised at first before he heard her sobbing as his shoulder became wet with tears. Unused to this kind of situation, he did what he felt was right, he gently rubbed her back, speaking in a soothing voice, "you've been keeping this inside haven't you?"

He felt her nod her head on his shoulder as he patted her hair, "it's alright," he continued waiting as she grieved out, she hiccupped as Naruto patted her back before she released, her hands rubbing at her eyes. Naruto stared at her, placing his hands on her shoulders, "all better?"

She nodded as Naruto stood up, she watched as he looked around the area before there was a smirk on his face, "let me show you something," he said as she signaled the girl to stay close to him.

She grew curious as she sniffed back a tear before holding on to his kimono.

Naruto closed his eyes, forming a seal with one hand as he concentrated on his chakra, 'let's see if this works,' he thought as she wondered what he was doing.

She felt a gust of wind swirl all around her. She saw a few loose petals release from the different colored flowers before swirling around them. She stared in surprise as Naruto lifted his other arm up, the petals swirled around his arms before swirling all around their body. He opened his eyes, smiling as he spoke while still holding his hand up in a weird symbol, "lift up your arm."

Hesitantly, she did before watching as the petals swirled around her. She let go of Naruto's robe before standing on the field, a smile on her face as the petals continued to swirl all around her, spinning up and forming a shape. Her eyes widened as the petals moved in the wind, forming a human shape, it seemed like a woman as she felt a petal brush against her cheek, she smiled softly, staring back up at Naruto's face who nodded towards her.

Naruto stopped when he heard someone clapping. He turned to the source, spotting another person near the tress, seemingly impressed as Mojimi ran up to Naruto.

"I'm sorry," her voice sounded apologetic as Naruto lowered his guard as she appeared in the light, "that was just very impressive display of a ninja technique."

They took a good look at her, spotting the colorful kimono with her light brown long hair that fell to her sides as she smiled peacefully. Naruto tilted his head, she looked a bit older than him, maybe a few years or so but how did she know about ninja techniques?

"Lady Haruna," Momiji stared in surprise when she quickly recognized her as Naruto wondered who that was.

"This is the daimyo's daughter," she explained as Naruto realize this must be the person from the carriage the other day.

Naruto briefly bowed as Haruna seemed amused before waving it off, "please I am tired of everyone doing that, act as you were."

They seemed surprised at that before complying.

Quickly, Naruto and Momiji found a new person who joined them on the fields. All three of them walked along while they exchanged their names before enjoying the scenery then smiling as Momiji suddenly went off, chasing some sort of insect.

"You are that worker I saw yesterday on the field," Haruna said while walking next to boy.

Naruto nodded as he watched the little girl run through the fields, making sure he didn't lose sight of her. There was still that question he had in mind, "how do you know about ninja techniques," he peered at her as she turned to him.

"The military here may not be ninjas but that doesn't stop the most trusted warriors on learning the art," she answered which seemed to satisfy Naruto as she had a question of her own, "but what about you," he stared back curiously at her, "you are not from around here?"

Naruto shook his head before staring back at the Momiji, "no, I was actually saved by this girl's family. I am grateful to them."

"Oh so that's how you know them," Haruna replied, "So where do you come from?"

Naruto twitched in response; he shook his head, sticking with the same thing he said to Momiji's grandparents, "I don't know really."

"Oh," Haruna seemed embarrassed as Naruto waved it off.

"It doesn't matter, I am enjoying my time now," he smiled as she stared back at him curiously, "this place is peaceful, everyone helps each other, or at least, I had noticed that when I first woke up in this place."

Haruna smiled at that, "I am glad then," she stared at the girl in the field as Naruto glanced back at the daimyo's daughter, "my father tries so hard to make peace in this land even though we don't have much," she settled down in one of the flower patch, Naruto joining her, "when I become the next daimyo, that is what I want to do, to make everyone feel safe in these lands and just to be happy."

She seemed sad for a moment, "it's just not fair how others would try to conquer this place just for some wealth, when they don't see the beauty around it," she sighed, laying her chin on top of one knee, "and now I won't see my father because of it."

"Why?" Naruto questioned.

She lay back on the flowers, staring up at the sky, "it's some sort of peace treaty, I have to go to one of the main settlements for some reason," she closed her eyes, "I just hope this whole thing stops, I worry for my father."

Naruto nodded, feeling sorry for the girl before smiling, "I hope you don't change that attitude of yours."

She opened her eyes, staring at the young boy curiously as he continued, "When you become daimyo, you'll still need strong warriors to help you shape your country but," he glanced down at her, "I like that attitude of yours, it's a happy one."

She smirked before sitting up, "oh," she said playfully, "how about you become one of my guards," she leaned forward, "you'll be paid well and you seem to be strong yourself."

Naruto chuckled; "how about we go out sometimes?" he shot back at her as she seemed surprised at the reply.

Haruna laughed along with Naruto at the joke before she settled down, a smile on her face, "sorry little boy, I am too old for you."

Naruto laid back, "awe shucks," he closed his eyes as she smiled down at him.

"Too bad you aren't a few years older," she laid back as well as Naruto opened one eye, glancing at her, "I might think about it."

They laughed again before sighing and resting for a moment.

"Naruto!"

The said person sat up, along with Haruna as they spotted the little girl running towards them, pointing behind them.

Naruto and Haruna stared at each other curiously before turning around, their eyes widened at the scene.

"The village," they saw the bright flames that lit the air; "it's being attacked."

Naruto quickly stood up, helping Haruna as well before Momiji grabbed hold of his kimono.

"Miss Haruna!"

They spotted a person jumping high up in the air before landing near them. He had his blade out, staring towards the village.

"Yurinojou," she greeted before turning back to the boy Naruto, "we must leave at once, it's not safe here."

"Grand mah, grand pah," Naruto heard Momiji's voice before he shook his head at the Haruna.

"He's your guardian, be safe Lady Haruna," Naruto wished her as he lifted Momiji and placed her in his back, instructing her to hold on.

Haruna stared at him worried, "but what will you do?" she asked concerned as Naruto turned back to her, his eyes serious.

"I have to save her grandparents," he answered before running off, jumping high into the air towards the village.

"H-he's a ninja?" Yurinojou questioned as he watched them leap off. Haruna nodded before turning back to her guard.

"We must hurry."

Naruto landed on the floor, "Momiji, close your eyes ok, no matter what," he instructed before dashing forward. She didn't know why she had to but she nodded, shutting them closed as Naruto sprinted into the burning village.

The closer he came, the more noises he heard, the screams, the sword battles, and the collapsing buildings.

He watched as the town put up a fight, watching as several guards battled with the bandits as he made his way, trying not to be seen.

He ran through a crowd, watching as a guard was slain in front of him as a bandit stood there, his face feral as his sword was drawn out.

Naruto stared at all the blood, his eyes growing angry as the bandit headed towards him, thrusting his blade forward.

Naruto leaned right, letting the blade slip pass him before running forward, and one arm forming into a fist. He shot it forward, concentrating chakra onto the attack before delivering a devastating blow to the bandits face. Naruto watched in satisfaction as the bandit went crashing into one of the burning buildings before he spotted the sword on the ground and lifted it up with his right hand.

"N-Naruto, what was that," he felt Momiji's hands tightened as he continued heading towards the home.

"Just keep your eyes closed ok?" he instructed as she buried her face onto his back, he felt her body shaking.

"Naruto!" he stopped on his run, spotting the old man and his wife. He let out a breath of relief how they were ok before sprinting towards them.

This place seemed somewhat secured as he spotted several guards around the area with a few of the villagers as he placed Momiji down. She opened her eyes before smiling in relief as she ran up to her grandparents.

"Thank goodness you arrived here on time," the old lady spoke, hugging the girl before they followed the crowd led by the guards.

Naruto followed the group, watching the burning buildings all around him and the bodies that lay on the floor. He turned back to Momiji, spotting as she concentrated on her grandfather while she ran, he didn't want her to see all this.

He heard a scream near them before breaking off the group, old man seemed to notice, "Naruto where are you going?" Momiji stared back in worry as Naruto spoke back, "go on without me, I'll be alright."

He departed from the rest of them as they watched in worry as the blonde haired boy carrying a rusted sword disappeared into the burning village.

"Now I got you," the dirty bandit smacked his lips as he approached the village girl, his sword raised as she shrieked out again. He leaped forward as she closed her eyes.

Naruto appeared, his knee out making contact to the bandit's face, slamming him to the wall beside the girl.

"Hey you alright?" he asked, staring down at the girl as he saw the bandit was knocked unconscious.

She opened her eyes, tears falling out as she nodded to her savior. Naruto offered his hand, "come on, we need to go," suddenly chains wrapped around him, tightening as he dropped his sword.

He turned around, finding another of those bandits except this time, this one had a mask covered face as the end of the chain weapon was a scythe.

"Where do you think you're going little brat," the bandit spoke as Naruto glared him.

He concentrated on his chakra, placing his hand on the chain and pulling hard. The masked bandit could only stare in surprise as the kid pulled the chains with enough strength that it pulled the bandit forward, making him fall to the ground as he released the weapon.

Naruto swung the chain with the scythe and small chain ball around him, freeing him as he grabbed onto both ends.

The bandit stood up, shocked at the display of strength before suddenly he saw black as the small metal ball at the end of a chain smashed his face, knocking him unconscious.

Naruto swung the ball chain around before wrapping it around his arm and holding up the scythe end, he stared down at the girl who watched in amazement, "let's go."

Naruto continued rescuing anyone he could find, appearing out of nowhere, knocking the enemies unconscious while fleeing with the villagers. He had a few now, some children and grown adults as they neared the exit of the village.

He unwrapped the chain from his arm as several bandits appeared. The chain shot forward, smashing into one of the bandits, knocking him back before Naruto spun it back to his body, he heard a yelp as one of the bandits appeared near one of the villagers. He swung the chain forward, wrapping the end around the bandit and pulling him away, swinging him into one of the burning buildings before he brought his scythe up, blocking a sword swipe. It sparked as he deflected the attack before lifting his leg up, kicking the bandit back before swinging the chain down as the hard end of the metal ball smacked the bandit in the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Over there," one of the villagers yelled out as Naruto looked up, spotting the exit as several guards headed their way.

"Go everyone!" Naruto yelled out as they ran pass him.

"Thank you," he stared back at the first villager girl he rescued, she had a grateful smile on her face. Naruto nodded back and watched her leave as he stared back at the burning village before bringing up the rear.

They ran to the clearing as the guards instructed them to follow. They ran to the forest soon after, several of them looking back at their home that was now destroyed…

…**Several hours later…**

Naruto was resting his back on one of the trees as the villagers that survived the ordeal did the same, resting where they can, along with the guards.

"Naruto!" the blonde haired boy looked up, watching as a girl suddenly latched on to him crying into his chest, "why did you leave, I thought, I-I."

He smiled down at her, patting the back of her hair as he spoke, "it's alright, I'm here, I'm safe."

She continued crying before staring up at him. He smiled reassuringly before standing up.

"What you did young man," Naruto stared up at the old man who smiled along with his wife, "many of us are grateful." He pointed back as Naruto stared at a few children and adults he had rescued, reunited with their family, he smiled, no thanks were needed.

"Naruto!" he turned around, spotting Haruna who came up to him with her body guard, "you're safe, I'm glad."

Naruto nodded before they heard one of the guards speak.

"Attention," everyone from the crowd turned to face him, "we are heading towards the outer village settlement, as of right now we do not have any guards to spare if you are travelling elsewhere, I'm sorry."

"What, but they are the people," Naruto spoke, wondering why they where only guarding the road to the settlement when he spotted several others form groups heading towards a different direction.

"It's because of me Naruto," Haruna looked down sadly at all the people, "they need to protect me since I am heading that way, and already with some of the injured guards, we don't have many to spare."

"I see," Naruto quirked his lips before spotting a separate group, "where are they splitting off to anyways?"

She stared at the two groups, one of the guards already told her, "it seems some of them rather find comfort in the villages at Wind Country, but it seems none of the guards are going with them."

"Wind Country?" he questioned again.

"Yes, a few are trying to see if they could stay in the ninja village Sand for extra protection," Naruto watched as she seemed depressed, "this isn't the first time these attacks have occurred, my people just want a place to live where it is safe."

Naruto understood, he nodded his head before staring down at Momiji, she glanced up at him curiously.

"Where are you heading?" he asked as she seemed as if she didn't know.

"We are heading the same way Lady Haruna is," answered the grandfather.

Naruto nodded; scratching his head he spoke, "I'll head out with the group to Suna, they might need me just in case anything happens."

"But Naruto," Momiji spoke up, burying her face onto his slightly burnt kimono, "you can't leave us," she spoke saddened as the others had to stare sadly at the scene. Naruto knelt down, placing his hands on her shoulder as she stared down and sniffed.

"I'm sorry Momi, but it's not fair for these people, I want to help them," he placed his hand underneath her chin, lifting her head up as he tried to smile reassuringly, "please, understand."

She pouted, her eyes still tearing as she reluctantly nodded before hugging him one last time. Naruto closed his eyes, hugging back before standing up to the sad glances of the rest of them.

"It was good meeting all of you, I promise, we'll see each other again," he said as they nodedd, Momijiro heading back towards her grandparents.

"Wait," Naruto stopped as he saw Haruna's chubby looking body guard step forward, holding out a blade, "we won't forget what you've done to help us," Naruto took the blade, noticing the flowery imprint on the handle, "take my blade and use it, I am sure it would be better than that rusted weapon over there."

Naruto peered back at the chain scythe weapon he had taken from one of the bandits before nodding, "thank you," he bowed briefly, strapping it behind his back before heading towards the caravan that was leaving.

"I'll see you again Naruto," Haruna waved as Naruto nodded to them before catching up to the Suna group and soon disappearing from their view.

Momijiro looked back, a small tear on her eyes as she followed her grandparents and the rest of the group.

Haruna smiled as she walked along with the others, "be a great warrior Naruto," she glanced back, "so you could help me one day…"


	3. A Sand covered Leaf: Arrival

Ch 3

**Note: Uh I am not sure about the pairings but ideas are helpful. And just because it seems like a pairing, it doesn't mean it will happen ok? **

* * *

Three days have passed Konoha, two days after the Hokage's son's funeral as the whole village saw the change in their leader. The people knew he was still mourning for his son but they questioned his judgment. Missing ninjas, thieves, bandits, the Hokage was supposed to protect the people from them, but to be sentenced instant death once caught, there was no mercy anymore and they all knew it.

Now as the rain fell from the skies, the Hokage stood in his office, staring out as his assistant spoke.

"Sir would you like to go over what should be tested next month for the academy graduates?" she asked while observing as the Hokage continued to stare out his window, unmoving like a statue.

"No, assign it to someone else," he answered in a low voice as the assistant marked it off.

"There is a mission report of brief bandit attacks around several villages in Fire country, it's been classified by the Fire nation's Daimyo as important," she stared up at him, "how will you handle it?"

The Hokage paused for a moment, "show me the report."

The assistant nodded, taking out a scroll from the bundle in her arm before walking towards the Hokage who had one hand out expectantly. He took it, opening up and reading its contents.

"I want several groups of Jounins and all available hunter ninjas around those areas to eliminate the target," He directed as the assistant stopped her writing before turning to him.

"Sir, don't you think that's too much just to handle some bandits?"

The Hokage shook his head, "we must deal with them now before they grow to be a real problem," he stared back at her as she flinched at his gaze, "tell them to use any means necessary to find other bandit or missing ninja hide outs and eliminate them as well."

"Should they take the bandits in for questioning, or turn them to the village guards?" she asked as Minato shook his head.

"No, tell them that these scums deserve to die," she felt a chill from his voice as he continued, "Is that all?"

Hesitantly, she nodded as the Hokage waved her off. She bowed before leaving.

"Minato, surely a few of our experience genins can stop these bandits," Minato glanced beside him near the open window. He spotted his old sensei Jiraiya, sitting, watching him while speaking, "do you need to shed so much blood?"

The Fourth Hokage nodded while staring out, "we need to show these bandits not to mess with this country. Our genins lack the proper necessary skills to take care of it efficiently."

Jiraiya sighed in sadness, "look how cold you have gotten Minato, even some bandits have reasons for what they do. Not all thieves start out because they just want to steal."

Minato turned to him, staring at him coolly, "so am I to assume that all these bandits are only robbing and pillaging these villages because they don't want to?"

Jiraiya stood from his spot, his eyes staring at his student in disappointment, "you do not read the reports properly, not all of them pillage or burn down the village, some are just little attacks that actually have no killings at all," they stood facing each other, "not all of them need Jounins or Anbus to take care of it, send out some genins, they could use the experience."

Minato raised a hand, closing his eyes as he turned away from the white haired man, "last time I checked Jiraiya," he opened his eyes glancing back at him, "I was the Hokage, not you."

Jiraiya stared in sadness as he stood back and leaned against the wall, "you can't keep it bottled up forever Minato," the blonde haired Hokage stopped moving at the words, "this bitterness, would you allow others to feel it?"

Jiraiya witnessed his student flinch before slightly lowering his head. Three days to silently mourn, Jiraiya knew Minato well; he knew his student needed a break.

"Sensei," there it was, Jiraiya had him as he heard Minato's tired voice, "what would you have me do?"

The Toad Sannin walked up to him, placing his hand on his pained student, "rest Minato, you need it."

"Sensei I can't," Minato closed his eyes with his head bowing low, "this is all I have now."

Jiraiya shook his head before turning his student around, staring at him sternly as he lectured, "Idiot, are you too scared to face yourself," Minato's eyes slightly widened in surprise as he stared up at Jiraiya who continued to look down on him, "this is not the student I had trained."

"Sensei," Minato said ashamed as he stared up at Jiraiya before nodding, "you're right, I need to…"he paused briefly before sighing, "Rest."

Jiraiya smiled as he moved away while Minato stood there with a curious expression, "but all this work, who would be able to take my place?" he questioned as the door suddenly opened while Minato heard a chuckle from his sensei.

They watched as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, came in. Already, the elder was holding parchments in his hand, reading one before stopping and staring back at Minato, "don't worry, I'll handle it."

Minato smiled softly before turning to Jiraiya, "you planned this," his voice accused as Jiraiya nodded.

"I'm just looking out for yah brat."

Minato rolled his eyes at the old name calling before bowing briefly in thanks.

The Third Hokage waved it off before taking a seat, "take care Minato."

He nodded before leaving the room…

…**Scene Change…**

It was in the distance the group had spotted the ninja village. They had been travelling for days, taking breaks or camping for the night as Naruto had to finally smile at the ninja village. The place was what he expected it to be, a place overflowing with sand and winds nearly blowing every once in a while. He felt another draft as the cloth hanging from the small turban he was given flapped in the wind.

"Come on guys, not far now," Naruto spoke excitedly as he went to help the others.

Naruto had never been to Suna before, so as the caravan entered the ninja city, he had to stare all around him at the sites and people. The buildings where different if not arranged the same way as Konoha and the clothing, it was a different style, they actually wore a bit more clothes which is understandable since it was pretty cold, they didn't call it wind country for nothing.

"Hey Naruto," came the voice of one of the caravan folks.

Naruto turned to them, wondering what it was they wanted.

"Thank you for guiding us on the journey, do you have a place to stay here?" the old folk asked as Naruto shook his head.

The blonde ninja waved it off though, "don't worry about it, I guess I'll see you guys around the village," he waved to them; his journey for now was over as he wondered what he would do next.

Reaching into his pocket, he felt the sack of money he had brought along, sure it was enough to last him a few days but without really knowing how long he would be here, he needed to find a source of income.

'Looks like I'm getting a job,' he sighed before spotting a restaurant like building in front with a help wanted sign. Naruto stared up in the air, 'if my geography is right then,' he looked behind him towards the gate, "I'm a long ways from home…"

…**Scene Change…**

It was still raining out as the stand's lights were turned on. The air wet and the sky dark for the morning as laughter could be heard inside the little food stand.

"More Dangos!" her voice was excited as she placed her arm around a certain female red eyed Chuunin who had to smile at her friend.

"Anko," she sighed before grabbing hold of her tea on the counter, "don't you think you had enough?"

The purple haired Jounin turned around, pouting as she shook her head, "aw, Kurenai, this is my breakfast and Lunch," she took several sticks before chewing on the delectable treat attached to them, "besides, I have another mission later," she chewed as Kurenai had to at least smile at that.

Next to them was a bearded Jounin taking a sip of his drink as he spoke to the strangest looking guy next to him with a bowl shaped haircut, "Gai, I heard you're taking on a team of genins this time around," the said person grinned as he twitched and stared down at his drink, "you sure you can handle it?"

"Of Course!" Gai yelled out to the irritation of the people in the stand, "I find it is time to pass on my energy to the youths, to help build their characters and realize that hard work pays off in the end!" he laughed before patting the man who sweat dropped, "why do you ask Asuma?"

Asuma shrugged in response, "I'm not sure," he looked up lazily, "my old man is advising me to get my own genin team, I'm still thinking about it though."

"You should listen to the Third," Anko interrupted as the two men turned to her, watching as she was chewing her food with her eyes closed as if enjoying the taste, "if he says you should do it, then you should," she took another bite.

Kurenai smiled as she gave Anko a sly look, "so does this mean you're going to hold your own genin team?"

The purple haired Jounin paused before turning away, "nah, can't stand those brats."

They sweat dropped at her reply with Kurenai sighing again, "then why would you say something like that?"

Anko shrugged, "because, he's not me," she smiled as the others had to turn away with a small chuckle. They all knew Anko was extremely grateful for the Third; He was the one who had helped her the most when she was a teen.

Asuma thought of something as he turned to the red eyed Chuunin, "aren't you going to be a Jounin soon?"

Kurenai stared back with a thoughtful expression, "yes I am," she nodded, smiling politely before staring up curiously, "actually, I'm not sure maybe the end of this year or the beginning of next, I've heard the tests are a lot harder though."

"Of course they are," Anko interrupted again, placing her arms on both Asuma and Kurenai's shoulders, "but you'll do fine," she smirked as she turned her head facing Asuma, a sly look on her face, "you should just ask her out already Asuma."

Rather than being affected by the taunt, Asuma closed his eyes turning away along with Kurenai who actually blushed, "I don't know what you're talking about," Asuma took a sip of his drink as Anko had to pout that her taunt didn't work.

"It's been raining hard today," it was a new voice as a figure emerged from outside, gently moving away the cloth on the top entrance of the stand to enter.

"Oh Kakashi," Gai greeted, watching as the Anbu ranked ninja wearing a dog shaped mask attached to the right side of his head while wearing a lower mask cover seemed pretty tired as he ordered a soothing tea, "did you return from your mission?"

Kakashi took a seat near Gai while the others greeted him, "I'd rather not discuss it Gai," the look on the Kakashi's face was a bit serious as he stared down at the counter.

The others had to calm down at the statement, they knew what kind of missions recent Jounins and Anbus had to go through, especially a lot of unnecessary killings; it was enough to tire anyone. The only one who didn't understand was Kurenai who stayed quiet out of respect.

Kakashi raised his head up to the others, he seemed to be relieved with something as he spoke, "I'm transferring my rank to Jounin soon," the others were surprised at the info, "I guess I can use a break, maybe take up a genin team of my own," he smiled under that mask of his as the others nodded.

"Not you too," Anko rolled her eyes as she sat down on the stool with her cheek leaning on her hand that was elbowed to the table, "it seems everyone is getting a genin team."

Kakashi chuckled along with the others, it was nice once in a while to just sit and rest with other ninjas, a break from work, and a way for ninjas like them to relax.

The masked ninja heard footsteps splashing on the puddles from behind. He briefly glanced back, just a paranoid habit of his as he wondered if it was just another villager. He stared surprised with one eye before staring at the figure sadly, "sensei," he said as the others heard him. They all turned to the figure, spotting who it was.

They had to frown at their leader who was walking the muddy pathway in the rain; they knew he was still depressed with the loss of his son. Naruto was the only family he had left.

"I just can't believe it," Kurenai shook her head as the others had to nod, they knew already what she would say, "first his wife, now his son. Who knew the Hokage life could be so rough."

"Yes," Gai nodded, even he seemed to have become less energized as he spoke, "his flames have died low but I know it will burn bright again in the future."

Anko watched the blonde leader move, she remembered him from back then in the academy. It was before they were assigned their Jounins that today were now called sannins. She was one of the students who graduated with the Fourth Hokage. She didn't remember much about him though, they never really talked much, and all she knew was that he was very energetic at the time.

'Now look at him,' she thought while staring at him. She went with the snake bastard Orochimaru while Minato went with the toad hermit Jiraiya, she wondered if it was the other way around, would the man that this village respected and praised for so much power be like her, coping with the past and wishing vengeance against her sensei?

'He would definitely show that Snake bastard a thing or to,' she smirked as she got off of her stool.

The others watched curiously as Anko suddenly stood up and moved out of the stand, and before they could question her actions, she had moved out of the stall, heading towards the Fourth Hokage…

Even as the rain fell upon his soaking body, he continued walking as if it was nothing. 'A break,' he thought saddened as he stared at the watery floor, watching as he stepped on another puddle, 'I suppose I can train more, I do have an idea of a new technique,' he shook his head before sighing, 'I don't know what to do,' his lips frowned as he remembered his empty manor, he stayed at the office mostly just to avoid returning to his home, nothing was there. Still, he grew sad as he remembered his son; he never did get as close as he wanted, and it was something he had regretted.

He suddenly bumped into something as he looked up with an apologetic expression before staring in surprise at the smirking face of a female ninja.

"Sorry, I wasn't really…" he tried to apologize as the female ninja smiled before leaning in.

"Um miss?" Minato stood back, a bit disturbed at her expression.

"You don't remember me do you?" she seemed disappointed as Minato looked away with a thinking expression. He wasn't sure he remembered her, she did look familiar and maybe she was one of the ninjas he had given a mission scroll to sometime ago.

He shook his head as she sighed before speaking, "my names Anko Mitarashi mister, and you owe me a drink now come," she grabbed onto one of his arms, pulling him towards a stand as Minato had to stare back at her confused and surprised.

"W-what," Minato replied as this person he now knew as Anko was practically dragging him from the rain.

She smirked while facing him, "I said you owe me a drink, its only right since you did hurt me," her eyes suddenly formed tears as Minato had to sweat drop with an awkward smile.

He sighed in defeat as she finally pulled him inside of the stall.

"Oi, a bottle of saké here," she practically threw the Fourth Hokage to the seat.

He had closed his eyes as he fell to the stool, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he nearly whispered out, "isn't it too early to be drinking," he opened his eyes before staring at the ninjas in the stool in surprise.

"Oh hey," Minato waved at the others as they had to awkwardly wave back.

'I can't believe Anko did that,' several of them thought with a small sweat drop.

"Sensei."

Minato stared at the back, spotting his student, "oh Kakashi, back already?"

Kakashi seemed a bit happy as he smiled, "yes sir."

"Drop the formalities Kakashi," Minato waved off as Kakashi nodded before the Fourth asked, "so, how is everyone?"

"It's been great Lord Hokage!" Gai stood up to Minato's shock, "we have new graduates soon and more ninjas who need us to show them our flames of youth!" he pointed in the air as Minato had to let out an awkward laugh.

"O-ok then," Minato turned to the table, spotting the red eyed ninja who stared at him before speaking.

"Lord Hokage," she spoke politely with respect, "it is nice to see you out sir, are you taking a break?"

Minato chuckled before scratching his head, "nope, I'm actually not the Hokage as of right now."

"What!" the room asked, surprised as Minato waved away at their response.

"Yeah well," he smiled a bit happily as he said it, "Jiraiya and Hiruzen suggested I take a break, so looks like I'm off for a while."

The others nodded, with the way things were in the village, they couldn't help but agree with them.

"Well then" it was her feminine voice which made Minato blush along with the fact that he felt something soft behind him as arms appeared wrapping around his neck, "it looooks like we will have more drink outs."

"S-sensei," Kakashi stuttered as the others in the stand had to stare slack jawed that Anko would make a move on the Fourth Hokage.

Suddenly Anko nearly fell as the Minato had disappeared in a blink of an eye and appeared outside, a blush still on his face.

"W-well, its nice seeing all of you," he seemed to be smiling as he waved off, "I had better be off now, stuff to do and all."

"But you didn't pay for the drink!" Anko yelled out as Minato moved farther away, waving it off.

"Look again," he replied before waving a final time, "later," he disappeared as they turned back to the spot, spotting a few bills placed on the table as Anko smiled joyfully, returning to her seat while taking the alcoholic beverage.

She felt someone staring at her as she turned around, spotting the looks she was receiving from the others; she shrugged, "what?"

"I can't believe you did that," Kurenai blushed with a scolding look.

"Are you just jealous? Little chuunin," she had a sly smile on her face as Kurenai turned away, a blush still on her face. Asuma seemed to have twitched to that accusation.

"No but taking advantage of this situation."

There was an annoyed look on Anko's face, "I hardly call this taking advantage of him," she stared down at her drink as the others seemed surprised at her sad look, "did you notice, he finally smiled."

A shock expression appeared on their faces as they seemed to have understood. Anko stood up, taking the drink and facing outward, "anyways, I have to go get my mission, later Kurenai." Anko exited before jumping away.

Gai chuckled, "it seems his flames might be rekindled sooner than we think."

"And just what do you mean Gai?" Kakashi questioned, one eyebrow raised as Gai faced him, a smirk on his face.

"Why Kakashi, have you ever visited Rin at the hospital?"

The anbu flinched before masking his emotions, "she's busy and with my schedule, it's hard for me to see what my old teammate it up too."

"But when you become a Jounin," Gai implied as Kakashi nodded as he seemed to be smiling underneath that mask.

"I guess I can see what she is up too."

"Is that all just see what she is up too," they turned to the exasperated look on the chuunin female who was staring at the Anbu.

"Umm, yeah?" Kakashi seemed confused at what she was trying to ask as Gai laughed out loud while Kurenai rolled her eyes.

"Rival," Gai stood up, prepared to leave, "it seems I have won this round."

"What round," Kakashi still didn't know what he was talking about as Gai shook his head.

"When it finally happens, I will claim my point," he stepped outside, speaking, "till then, I'm off." He jumped out as the others realized they needed to leave as well…

…**Academy…**

Hinata sat underneath the tree, watching as the rain fell. She was away from the other students, especially the one known as Kiba. It was not that she hated him; she just grew tired of his presence. Today he had asked her out again, it brought back painful memories of a boy she was supposed to wed. She had to try hard to hide her tears again as she ignored the boy, denying him once more before hiding away.

She heard a crack from above as she glanced up, spotting a figure who was resting on one of the tree trunks on top. She watched as his obsidian eyes stared down at her as she looked down and asked, "I'm sorry, did you want to be alone?" She knew who it was, Sasuke, the last Uchiha in the village. It was sad hearing what had happened to his family and she knew he had a harder time than her especially with so many girls chasing after him. She waited for a reply.

Sasuke stared down at the pale eyed girl, honestly, he didn't really care. The Hyuuga girl was the only one in class he was ok with, she was quiet and left him alone, and if he hadn't glanced down at all when he had arrived, he wouldn't have noticed she was there at all. He shrugged, leaning back onto the tree and closing his eyes.

Hinata nodded before leaning back as well, staring out into the rain. 'Naruto,' she thought with a sad expression as her shoulders slumped, her eyes transfixed on the misty rain.

Sasuke opened one eye, glancing down at the Hyuuga girl, he opened both eyes to watch her, he knew that look anywhere but why would she be sad? The only recent death he knew was that boy he wasn't sure what his name was but it was the Hokage's son, could they have been something?

The Uchiha remembered today, the annoying commotion in class, that dog boy talking to her. It was irritating how people don't really consider the situation before opening their mouths.

'Hi I'm just a weakling, would you go out with me,' Sasuke rolled his eyes, it was a pointless thing that constantly annoyed his training time and his life, there must be a way out of it. He pondered, wondering what, ignoring them, or glaring didn't seem to stop them, would it stop if he actually agreed to it? He stared down at the girl, she must be annoyed too, he was sure she wouldn't mind getting rid of that dog problem too. He smirked, 'this might work out'. Plan in mind he jumped down next to the girl, silently landing before noticing how distracted she was that she didn't notice him, a familiar feeling he understood.

He placed his hands in his pocket, his mouth quirked to the sides as he leaned on the tree, speaking, "Hyuuga."

She snapped out of it, blushing in embarrassment before turning to the sound. She stared up at the Uchiha in surprise, "y-yeah?"

His eyes stared down at her as she wondered what he wanted…

…**Minutes later the class room…**

'Alright this time I'll be calmer about it,' Kiba nodded to himself as he waited for a certain person.

He watched as she entered, there was a gleeful smile on his face before he stood up and walked towards the girl…

Sasuke sat on his normal seat as one of his classmates sat next to him. He turned to her, watching as she combed her long blonde hair before staring back at him, a blush on her face as Sasuke watched disgusted as he spoke, "move now," his voice meant it.

She widened her eyes…

Hinata was fixing her desk, gathering items before she heard his voice.

"Hey there Hinata," she sighed as she picked up her books and turned around, spotting Kiba who was scratching the back of his head.

"About this morning, I just wanted to apologize."

Hinata turned around, headed for another direction as Kiba was taken aback by the sudden action before he fell into step with the girl, "so uh, how about it, do you forgive me?"

Hinata had her eyes slightly closed as she continued walking, passing by a blonde haired girl who stared at Hinata in surprise. Hinata whispered, "Please Kiba, I'm s-seeing," she stuttered that part, "someone else."

"W-WHAT!" Kiba practically shouted in shock as the class stared, wondering what was happening.

Hinata blushed, either embarrassed or unsure with herself as she continued to walk towards a certain space.

"Who is it?" Kiba asked, falling to step again, a bit jealous and curious at the same time. Hinata shook her head as Kiba finally wondered where she was heading towards.

She stopped in front of an empty desk before placing her books on top of it. Kiba peered in front of her, wondering where she was sitting before widening his eyes, spotting the seat next to the class prodigy. Sasuke stared back at Kiba, his eyes narrowing with an eyebrow raised.

"Y-you're seeing Sasuke!?" Kiba said aghast as the class was shocked at the declaration.

Hinata blushed, sitting down as she stared at her desk, she nodded. Kiba stared at Sasuke, spotting as the boy looked elsewhere with an annoyed expression.

Kiba had to twitch an eye before leaving to his seat, the whole class started to whisper.

Hinata turned to Sasuke, a small smile on her face as she whispered, "thank you."

Sasuke shrugged, not really caring as he felt satisfied that one problem was solved…

…**Suna…**

Naruto wiped the cool metal from his sword, watching how light glinted off the clean metal blade before he held it in front of him, staring at half his reflection that stared back at him; he let out a sigh, "I'm not that good with a sword," he stood up from the hard wooden floor from his room.

He found a job in one of those eating establishments and he would start working the next day early morning; he had bought some clothes for himself that made him blend in more with these people and purchased a simple room in one of those living spaces.

Arriving near the wall where his sheath was leaning on, he lifted up the casing and slid the blade inside before placing it back down.

He walked to his bed, lying down as he stared up at the ceiling as he thought of his next plan.

'First off, I need to continue my training,' he lifted his right arm up, channeling little of his chakra to his right arm and watched as several seals appeared in rows with different markings, 'there was a training facility in the village, I should use those only for small combat training.' He closed his eyes, placing both hands up as he concentrated. A small glow of chakra appeared around his hands and legs as he opened his eyes. Chakra cuffs, his own design combined with the seals on the wrists and ankles, it cut off a certain supply of chakra which weakens him to a point but helps his muscles and chakra supply grow a lot faster.

"I'm going have to train in the desert," he grew tired at the idea already as he ran into a problem, 'but getting in and out, I need some kind of method…' his eyes widened as he lifted up his right arm, staring at the spot of a certain seal as a smile crept into his face, "That's it!" he sat up, placing a finger on the seal and releasing. A familiar scroll appeared as Naruto caught it and placed it on his bed, opening and remembering where he left off. He remembered what he read once, how it works, but the most important part was how to create it. He needed certain ingredients, a few he might be able to find in the shops and stands, and the others require some chakra manipulation. "Well I at least have one ingredient," he said a bit sarcastically, it was blood. When mixing the ingredients together, it needed the user's blood to help empowering the new ink he would use to write the seals. 'Minato was a genius,' Naruto smiled at his father as he continued his thought, 'he had created his own bloodline technique.' Hang on, Naruto paused, if it required blood then would that mean he would be able to use his father's own? He decided to ponder on that later; he should just try to study it now.

…**Elsewhere…**

The Fourth Kazekage stared at the message he held in his hands, reading its contents. "So, the newly formed Sound village wants to form an alliance," he turned to his assistant near his desk, she seemed to be working on something. "I want you to form a meeting in a few months time, tell their leader that I am busy at the moment, maybe something about the upcoming chuunin selection exam hosted by Iwa," he directed, handing her the message as he walked off to the window, "I have no intentions on meeting this Sound leader until I gather more information," he peered back at her as she nodded.

"Right away Lord Kazekage," she quickly moved out of the room to perform her duty.

"By then I should know enough," he stared out again into his village, those eyes reflecting thoughts hidden by others.

…**Next Day…**

Naruto had arrived at the restaurant and was soon ordered to work. He would sweep then mop the floors, set up and wipe the tables, clean the bathrooms, and a lot of other mediocre tasks. He wouldn't be waiting like the other waitresses or waiters and since he was new, he didn't talk much to his co-workers, he just continued doing his job and wishing for the day to end so he can check the shops for certain ingredients so he would be able to start his training as soon as possible.

It was in the afternoon during lunch time when a few groups of what Naruto perceived as academy students entered. They appeared his age, some younger and he wondered if he was still in Konoha, would these people be in the same class he would?

He shrugged before walking to a table next to a group of chattering girl ninjas. He started clearing the table as he heard their conversation.

"Aw man, did you study for the exams today?"

His ears twitched at the voice.

"I'm just having a hard time with concepts of a ninja technique."

"I mean come on, we just need to perform the hand seals and channel the chakra. Does it matter if we have to know how it works?"

Naruto heard a few voice their opinion, most agreeing with the words as Naruto rolled his eyes, these were ninjas of Suna? He wiped at the table.

"Ok so, it's exactly the same as those one hand seals we use to concentrate chakra. The symbols like Rat, hair, or monkey should each be performed to strengthen our chakra control and to properly use the technique, do you agree?"

Naruto heard the girls reply affirmatively. His eye twitched as he stared back at the bunch, his mouth on the verge of saying something before he shut it and returned to the table.

"So really following the hand seals is the same as concentrating your chakra, it's just that each symbol stimulates your body to…"

"You guys really don't know much about ninja seals do you?" Naruto muttered a bit too loud as he placed the rag on top of one shoulder.

The small group turned back, staring at the boy curiously, "excuse me, who are you?" a girl asked.

Naruto glanced at them, "probably someone who knows a bit more than you," Naruto placed items back onto the table as the girl seemed annoyed.

"Well, what would you say then?"

Naruto stopped before turning back to them, he spotted the annoyed faces before he answered, "Hand seals are most important to a ninja technique, not only because once you complete them you get your effect, which is how easily you put it," she rolled her eyes at that as Naruto continued explaining, "each hand seal has a specific purpose, take this," he showed them a seal, placing his hands together, ring and pinky finger crossed while his index and middle finger pointed up along with both thumbs, they watched curiously " Tiger which helps me call upon the fire element. I can use this and maybe summon up a burst of fire, but I hardly consider it enough to hurt someone, well maybe if they keep still and keep letting me fire them up at the same spot but no." he shook his head, "that's why I can add," he changed his hands to a different seal which almost looked alike as the first seal but instead the right hand's middle, ring, and pinky was bended while the index and thumb pointed up, "ram, to help concentrate my chakra in the beginning," he changed again his hands out with index pointing to each other while the middle, ring and pinky held on to each other, "horse for target or added concentration," he changed again placing a low fist and a hand on top, "for added power I can add either dog," it shifted, holding his hands together as the thumbs slightly seemed loose pointing upward as the pinkies pointing downward, "or dragon," he shifted to the original symbol, "and finally end with my original seal," he smiled as they seemed shocked that he knew this much, "there, that should give me something strong," he closed his eyes, one finger out as he lectured, "that is why hand seals are important for ninja techniques, there are literally thousands of techniques a ninja can use or create and each seal has one or more effects when combined with others ," Naruto turned around, "you can say stimulate the body but in reality, it is the beginning basis to shape chakra, not the body, although there are a few seals that do stimulate the body," he waved before leaving as they stared at him in surprise.

They turned to each other, staring confusedly as one asked, "well, that was a lot better than our sensei's explanation," the others continued to ponder as another asked, "but isn't he just a villager, how does he know this?" they turned to stare as the blonde was currently getting an ear full by the manger before a waitress appeared taking their orders…

As the hours passed and Naruto was soon finishing up his time, he had to at least grin that he wasn't missing much in the academy. He worried that without the academy, he would be lacking in education, but it seemed he was way ahead. Hell, he could talk about summoning techniques, illusions, and even the elemental theory; yeah he wasn't worried about his education.

He was scolded earlier for wasting his time and chatting with the customers. Work was work and he had gotten off with a warning.

Now as he exited the restaurant, he grinned as he headed towards the shops and stores to find his ingredients.

"Hey wait." Naruto stopped when he heard a feminine voice; he turned back, spotting one of those Suna academy ninjas from earlier.

She stood in front of him as Naruto took a good look at her; it seemed she preferred to wear a bandana that covered her long brown hair as she stared at him with her light brown colored eyes. She seemed embarrassed as she placed her arms behind her, looking away as she spoke, "I was here earlier with that group when you gave us the explanation."

Naruto nodded, wondering what she wanted.

"Well," she suddenly bowed as Naruto was taken aback by surprise, "thank you, it really helped me out."

She looked up before flinching as she watched the boy her age turn around and started walking away. She stood and fell in step with him, "hey I just thanked you," she said a bit irritated as Naruto shrugged, replying, "You're a ninja; you'll figure it out eventually."

"Well that's true," she stared up ahead before glancing back at him, "but how do you know these things?"

Naruto smirked, "who knows," she seemed to pout at that.

"My name is Mikoshi by the way," she stopped as Naruto took a few steps away and stopped as well. He turned to face her, remembering her name before nodding.

"My name is Naruto."

She smiled, "I'll see yah around Naruto."

He smiled as well before they waved each other off, 'well, at least I made one friend,' he thought before heading out.

Being in a new village, he wasn't sure where the stores where located, he thought if he should have asked that girl Mikoshi for directions but shook it off. He found that the villagers were friendly in offering directions in which he thanked them before trying to find his way. It was lucky though, most of the items he was looking for seemed to be in one location, probably a market of some sort.

'Now that guy said to turn left right?' Naruto pondered as he looked to the walls on the right, not noticing the panic expressions on several of the villagers, 'there should be a path to the right but all I'm seeing are houses, maybe he meant further up,' he thought before colliding with someone.

He quickly regained his step before quickly muttering out an apology and turning away, not really noticing the furrowed brows of the red haired boy.

'Ah, there it is,' Naruto smiled as he ran off.

The villagers watched the scene in horror, turning to the person who had just bumped the demon container before turning back to the demon container. The red haired boy just closed his eyes before resuming his walk as if nothing happened.

…**Hours Later…**

Naruto returned to his room, an excited smile on his face as he held a brown bag filled with what he was looking for. It surprised him that the traders had items from everywhere, Konoha, Iwa, Kumo, and so on, a bit expensive but still, they had it. In the district he had run into some of the villagers from vegetable country, they were happy to have found jobs farming the protective oasis in the desert; it seemed like their skills as farmers were needed.

He moved to his table, clearing away everything before setting down the ingredients in there pile before bring out a mortar and pestle. He placed a bottle with a cork to the sides, some cutting paper, and within a few seconds, he brought his hand out, summoning one kunai from his seal and placing it down on the table.

"Let's begin," he spoke before he started gathering from the ingredients pile.

Within hours he had cut up enough ingredients, grinded it, and places them in a pot before boiling for a bit. It didn't smell as good as he thought it did when he boiled it, but of course it was black and bubbly so he didn't expect it to smell like roses either. It was this time that he added his blood, biting at his thumb and allowing a little blood seep through and drop into the boiling black liquid. He mixed once more before cooling it, which he read a few scrolls while he waited. Back at his village, he had learned a useful technique that helped him out a lot, it wasn't good to keep using since it drained the user of its chakra greatly but it was still useful, it was a technique called shadow clone technique. He had summoned a clone to watch the cooling liquid.

It finally came the time to pour the liquid into the bottle but before Naruto would cap it, he placed his hand over the open bottle, concentrating on his chakra as blue energy leaked out of his palm, clinging on to the black liquid that briefly glowed with the life energy.

His eyes stared at the bottle, his body tingling at a familiar feeling as a grin was implanted on his face…

…_Time Skip…_

…**A week** later, Naruto had upgraded to a waiter at the restaurant, during lunch, that girl Mikoshi would often greet him, they exchanged a few polite words as he took her orders and even after his work, he would sometimes meet her out in the training fields, except he would be doing exercises that didn't require the use of chakra while she would do techniques. She was a fast friend that he had made which helped him adjusting to this place a lot easier.

At nights though, he would walk around the village, implanting several rites with the special ink written symbol he had made for that technique. He had bumped into several questionable people that he didn't really care to talk to at the moment, and he had heard some interesting whispers along the dusty streets. It seemed there was a demon in the village, but so far, he had seen none.

The Thunder god technique was progressing ever since that night he had made the seals, he would sneak out to the sandy desert and practice. Returning to his home was practice as well since it required him to use that technique, he did find it a hassle putting up the rites in certain places since he could only use the technique as long as he had a rite and if he was given time, he hoped he would correct this.

New seals where hidden in his left arm, in his left palm seal he had placed rites on several regular kunais and underneath his left palm at the wrist, he placed a seal containing the paper rites, just in case he needed to stick them somewhere for a quick getaway. Now his right arm was full with knowledge and his left arm with the legendary technique, he was running out of space in his body but he still had room for more seals if he needed later.

Now he was currently working, standing in front of a smiling Mikoshi who sat and stared back at him as Naruto spoke, "so, I am taking it you want the same order."

She nodded as her lips moved to speak, "and don't forget."

Naruto turned around, rolling his eyes as he waved off, "you want the tea cold, not hot, I know, I know," he moved away to place the order as Mikoshi smiled, watching him leave.

Mikoshi hummed as she waited before she felt the seats beside her move as she spotted her friends from the academy, she smiled at them, greeting, "hey Kashike, Nari, I thought you were eating elsewhere?" she questioned as she watched them suddenly smirk.

Kashike sat up, a smirk on her tan colored face as she lifted up a finger, "don't think we haven't noticed."

Mikoshi still seemed confused, even as Nari suddenly appeared behind her, placing her chin on the girl's shoulder and staring at a certain blonde waiter who was talking to the lady owner behind the counter, "you always eat here, and we know why."

Mikoshi brushed Nari off of her shoulder, her eyes closed as she fixed her bandana, "what do you mean, I like the atmosphere here."

Nari and Kashike stared at each other, rolling their eyes as Nari took a seat and Kashike spoke, "I still can't believe your still seeing him, I mean, he's not even a ninja."

Mikoshi opened one eye, she thought otherwise, especially observing his training in the fields, no regular villager can move that fast unless they were a warrior. "We're friends, I respect his ideas," said Mikoshi who leaned back on her chair, "nothing wrong with that."

Kashike prodded the girl, "just ask him out," she said as Nari agreed before they spotted the said boy returning.

"Here yah go Miko," Naruto placed her cold tea in front of her as she thanked him while ignoring the look on her friends face. Naruto noticed the two before asking, "So, are you two going to order anything," he crossed his arms as the two girls smirked, shaking their heads before the boy nodded and walked away.

"Miko?" they teased as the girl calmly took her drink and sipped. Nari stared back at the boy, "you guys are practically the same age and he calls you Miko, isn't that a priestess?"

Mikoshi shook her head, "I'd appreciate it if you left me alone to my own decisions, thank you," she said while sipping her cold tea as her friends had to roll their eyes before getting up.

"Well if anything, tell us," Kashike said as they waved off, their faces still smiling as they left.

Mikoshi sighed at her friends before staring back at the boy, who knows what she would do…

Naruto returned to the counter, taking a seat as the manager seemed to take notice. She was an older woman, chubby and was wearing those white cloth hair covers. In the beginning she had been strict on the boy, but she saw him to be a hardworking person and she respected that, "you know, kids your age should be out playing or something," she was wiping a glass as she said it before glancing down at the boy, "you're like my youngest worker here."

Naruto shrugged as he continued to stare at a certain table, watching a quiet looking girl with short brown hair continue staring down at her tea. He had been watching her for a while as she entered, always with that sad thinking expression on her face that left Naruto wondering what was wrong, "it would be nice if I didn't have to work but I have bills to pay you know."

The manager stared down at him sadly. She had a feeling he might be living by himself and she guessed this confirmed it. Her eyes watched as the boy was staring at one of the customers before a sly smirk appeared on her face, "you fancy her Naruto?"

Naruto didn't even react, only replying, "She's always ordering that same Suna tea, and always staring at it with those sad eyes," the manger lady quirked her lips, staring at the girl as Naruto placed a hand on his mouth, "I wonder why?"

The owner heard a ding before bringing out an order, "well, better get to work," she handed him the plate as he nodded, taking the dish and leaving towards the table that placed the order…

As the hours passed and Naruto had finally gotten off, he made his way towards the training fields; he could probably get some kunai throwing practices in before heading out into the sandy deserts since there were no wooden dummies out there to practice his accuracy with, 'I wonder if I should train with my sword this time?' he thought as he decide to make a brief stop to his apartment before heading towards the training centers.

It had only taken a few minutes to return home and collect the sword he was given as a gift before arriving at the training grounds; he spotted a place he could use as he walked towards the area.

"Why do you have to take this spot, there are others available!"

Naruto stopped as he heard an argument before turning around, spotting a few older academy ninjas. They looked to be a year above him. He watched as one of the boys who is supposedly the leader had short brown hair and was standing there with his chest out wearing a loose green shirt and three other boys with him, staring down at another boy who had black long hair and wore a brown tunic. They seemed to be classmates as the boy wearing the tunic glared up fiercely as if he was used to this.

"And I've said," the brown haired boy said with confidence, "this is the best spot to train, I'm sure you'll understand since," he looked around with a mocking curious expression, "it seems none of your friends came to train with you." The others laughed as the boy with the tunic seemed to be scowling.

"I was sent here to reserve this spot, now get off, I was here first."

Naruto had to admire that boy's guts; he didn't want to stand down.

"Well how about this," the boy with the brown hair moved forward, standing inches between the dark haired boy with his arms crossed, "how about we fight you for it?"

Even he knew it wasn't worth it as the dark haired boy shook his head before walking away. The brown haired boy turned back to his friends who were laughing as Naruto watched the sand boy with the tunic sigh.

Naruto watched as the boy passed him before he tapped him on the shoulder. The sand student turned around, staring at him curiously as Naruto stared ahead at the brown haired boy in the field, "that's not really fair is it?"

The Sand student sighed, staring at the same person the blonde boy was staring at, "don't worry about it," he gave a reassuring smile as if he didn't mind what had happened, "that's Komaza, he always does stuff like that, we're all use to it."

"Komaza," Naruto repeated the name as he started walking forward.

The black haired student had to wonder who this villager was, he even spotted the sword on the boy's back and wondered if the kid knew how to use it, 'doesn't he work at that restaurant?' he questioned as he spotted where the boy was heading to, he appeared surprised, "h-hey wait," he reached out, falling in step with the boy, "you know me and Komaza are experienced ninjas in training and we're going to graduate next month?"

Naruto glanced at him; "really?" it didn't really stop him as the black haired boy seemed surprised.

"What are you going to do?"

The blonde haired kid didn't answer as he approached Komaza. The sand academy student sighed before watching the interaction.

"You seem pretty good."

Komaza paused with the rest of his friends, turning around and spotting the boy, "what do you want?"

There was a smile on Naruto's face, "how about a friendly competition…"

…several minutes later, Mikoshi and her friends Kashike and Nari were seen walking towards the training center with several weapons hanging on their sash.

"We really need to be ready for the tests next week," said the tan girl Kashike while she stretched one of her arms, "next year will be the final year before we graduate, and I want to be ready."

Nari nodded, walking next to Kashike, she seemed to be worried about something, "I just hope they take it easy on the kunai exams, I mean, we were just introduced to the combat methods and interpretations of throwing a kunai this year."

"I wonder about that one girl though," a finger was on Mikoshi's lip as she appeared thoughtful, "her name was Matsuri right?"

They nodded remembering the girl in their class, "Every time we are introduced to weapons she freezes, I wonder what her deal is?" Nari asked with no one really knowing the answer too.

Kashike paused, halting the group. To their questionable look, she pointed ahead at the little crowd of academy students near the kunai practice area, "seems like we're not the only ones who were going to practice," Kashike sighed as Mikoshi tilted her head replying.

"What's going on there?"

They started heading towards the crowd, wondering what was so interesting…

His face was sweating as his eyes stared in shock at the target ahead, 'this is the fifth target the boy had gotten the shot dead strait through the bull's eye!' he stared down at the blonde who appeared bored, taking out a kunai from somewhere he had no idea from, all he saw was the kid's right hand going beneath that cloak of his and a kunai magically appears, 'I'm older than him, I'm better, I'm a ninja, what is he?'

The small crowd of students watched as the blonde boy threw the kunai, it sailed in the air and impacted the back of the kunai that was already on the dead center of the dummy target's face, pushing it in before cracking the head, making this the officially the 5th target destroyed as a smirk was on the blonde's face who stared up at Komaza.

"So, give up?" the boy asked with a voice akin to a gloat.

Komaza glared down at the boy, "one more time," he spoke in anger before stomping towards the next target.

Naruto sighed while placing his hands behind his head, 'it's good for accuracy training but,' he stared at the student known as Komaza, 'this is getting boring,' they walked up to the next wooden dummy as Naruto watched Komaza take out a kunai and stare at the target far across. The Sand student's body was shaking, the grip on his kunai squeezing hard as beads of sweat appeared on his face that stared towards the wooden target…

The boy from earlier stared at the both of them, his jaw slacked as he concentrated his gaze upon that blonde haired boy, 'who is he?'

"Naruto?"

The boy turned to his sides, spotting a surprised expression on one of the lower ninja academy students, "Naruto," he repeated catching her attention, "do you know him?"

She glanced up at him, nodding her head, "yeah," she stared back at the blonde before walking forward, "I wonder what he's doing here?"

Naruto tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, watching as his foe continued standing there, sweating and unmoving while staring at the target.

"Hey Naruto, what's going on?"

Naruto turned around to the familiar voice before smiling, "oh Mikoshi," he greeted as she came up to him, "nothing really, just having a friendly competition."

She peered at the opponent, recognizing him as one of the older academy students. A surprise expression appeared on her face as she asked, "you're actually challenging an academy student?"

Naruto nodded, "we're playing for cash so," he shrugged as they watched the student lift his arm up, "easy cash."

Komaza twitched before glaring back, "can you shut up, I am concentrating here!"

He grumbled turning back to the target as Naruto rolled his eyes and Mikoshi watched curiously.

The boy threw the kunai as the crowd watched it sail through the air and landing on the head's bull's eye. Komaza smiled, "there, now go," he moved aside as Naruto became bored once again.

"Listen," Naruto while activating the seal in his right palm that contained his regular kunais, "this is the last time, I have better things to do."

He hid his hand beneath his cloak and pulled out two kunais before staring ahead at the target. He swished once, his hand releasing the first kunai before he quickly swished again, releasing the second.

The whole crowd watched as the kunai sped in the air before pounding on the kunai already implanted on the target, pushing it inside and forming cracks around the head before the second one slammed into it again, pushing it out through the head and destroying the dummy.

Naruto stared back Komaza, "now pay up."

Instead of complying and letting a brat like this get away with it, the sand student pulled out a kunai, glaring at the blonde, "there is no way I am paying a loser like you."

Naruto sighed, "I see," his hand was placed on the handle of his sword inside the sheath behind him.

For a second, no one moved as the winds blew the tiny dust around them, Komaza staring with his eyes confident while Naruto waited for the right moment.

Komaza twitched his hand as Naruto suddenly pulled out his blade, slashing the kunai the boy held, before sliding it back into his sheath.

The crowd stared in shock as the kunai was suddenly knocked from Komaza's hand to the floor, the boy Komaza turned pale white as Naruto held up a hand expectantly.

"The hell with this," Komaza took out a pouch, tossing it towards Naruto before running off with his friends behind him. Naruto caught the pouch, a grin on his face before he turned to Mikoshi. She stared at Naruto, her jaw slacked and an expression of shock on her face, "anyways, I'll see you later," he waved before walking out of the area, the crowd departing for him as Mikoshi continued to stare at him.

"Mikoshi."

The said person found her friends suddenly next to her, a surprise expression on their faces.

"Do you think," Nari started asking with a hopeful look, "he could teach us to throw like that?"

Mikoshi shook her head, she wondered the same thing.

…**Next Day…**

It was in the afternoon as they entered, taking a seat near the corner, appearing unnoticeable which was pretty amazing since the sandy blonde haired girl with long hair tied in four different direction was holding a giant fan while the boy wearing a dark hood attached to his whole dark jumper suit carried a wrapped package behind his back, and not only that, the boy had several line designs painted on his face which should be pretty noticeable.

As they took a seat, the boy seemed annoyed, "I can't believe Baki sensei won't enter us in the upcoming chuunin selections exam at Iwa."

The girl rolled her eyes, seemingly used to this, "we aren't ready Kankurou, I still need to brush up on a few wind techniques and you still need to practice your close quarter combat," the boy Kankurou seemed to have sighed on that as she continued, "plus, our other teammate."

They became solemn at that, remembering their other teammate.

"Still, we didn't even need to attend the academy, you would have thought with all that training, we would be ready by now," Kankurou said staring back at the girl who seemed distracted. Kankurou twitched, "hey, Temari, your older brother is talking to you," no response as Kankurou sighed, "it isn't polite to ignore me…oi."

Temari briefly glanced at her brother in annoyance, "I heard you the first time, I was just thinking."

"About what?" he asked.

She nodded her head towards a person as Kankurou glanced ahead.

He was a blonde haired boy, maybe a year younger than them and he appeared to be a waiter in this place. The boy was currently talking to one of the customers who had friends by her sides, laughing at something. "yeah, what about him?"

Temari rolled her eyes over to Kankurou, "and you think we're ready for the exams, your observational skills are lacking, look around the place," she instructed to Kankurou's annoyance, he followed her directions. There seemed to be a lot of academy students today, eating in this place. He couldn't understand that.

"So?"

Temari sighed out in exasperation, "Who are they staring at stupid?"

"Shut up," Kankurou replied before watching as most of the academy students stared at the boy waiter, "that is interesting," Kankurou turned to the table, closing his eyes and leaning back, "so a village boy is popular, so what?"

The sandy blonde haired ninja quirked her lips, 'it isn't unheard of a villager becoming popular but to befriend so many academy students?' she wondered if this meant anything as she continued to watch…

Naruto had a brief moment of laughter with Mikoshi and her two friends before the door opened and he spotted a familiar person walking through.

The boy was the same person from yesterday at the field and he seemed to be looking for someone before spotting him and heading towards him with a serious expression.

Naruto waved, "hey."

He stopped in front of the boy, nodding his head, "listen, I wanted to thank you for yesterday, you showed Komaza a thing or too," Naruto wondered why he wasn't smiling as he saw the student's eyes briefly glancing back, "I heard your name is Naruto," Naruto nodded to that as the boy introduced himself, "my name is Nejiri, I just came to warn you. Komaza is out for blood, he is looking for you and I'm not sure if it's for a rematch," Mikoshi and her friends watched Naruto with a serious expression, wondering how he would react.

Instead of seeing a serious expression on Naruto's face, they were dumbfounded to find him smiling instead, "thanks Nejiri, I'll keep that in mind," he walked off to their confused expressions as Nejiri lifted a hand up stopping him.

"Wait, aren't you worried?"

Naruto stopped, he glanced back at him and shrugged, "no, not really," he continued his walk towards the counter, spotting a familiar tea that needed to be delivered to the person Naruto was sure it belonged too. Nejiri stood there, wondering what to do now.

"You're name is Nejiri right?" Mikoshi asked the boy who stood next to their table.

Nejiri turned to her direction before remembering the girl from yesterday, "oh, it's you again," he said surprised as she nodded before pointing to an empty seat in front of her, between the two of her friends.

The older student took it, staring at her curiously as she introduced herself and her friends before asking, "I'm pretty sure Naruto is a lot stronger than he appears, he should be able to handle Komaza easily."

Nejiri shook his head, "I'll admit, he appears stronger than most villagers but still, Komaza has friends, he is the type who would rather attack someone with people by his side then go one on one."

That left Mikoshi to ponder now about Naruto's chances as the group watched the blonde waiter move towards a table, where a familiar quiet girl sat.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, Komaza flanked by three of his friends stood in the doorway before spotting the blonde waiter. They approached, already a kunai was held in Komaza's hand.

"You, Naruto," Komaza marched his way towards the blonde with his goons behind him.

Naruto calmly placed the drink on the girl's table before facing forward, watching as Komaza stopped in front of him.

"You think you're so tough don't yah villager boy," he slammed the kunai down the table, shattering the cup filled with tea as Naruto noticed the quiet girl sitting at the table suddenly turned pale.

Komaza moved close, poking a finger at Naruto's chest, "you and me, in the field same time as yesterday. We'll settle this and you'll soon learn your place little boy," the bully smirked before moving out of the establishment with his cronies behind him.

The residents inside the restaurant stared at the blonde boy, wondering what he would do as Naruto sighed before slowly taking the rag from his shoulder and he began to wipe the liquid and broken glass on the table while taking note of the kunai embedded on the surface.

"Sorry you had to see that," he spoke softly, placing the broken glasses inside the cloth, "I'll get you another one, no cost," he looked up before a surprised expression appeared on his face. He noticed the girl was still pale and her eyes lay transfixed on the embedded kunai.

'She's scared of kunais?' Naruto questioned in his mind before channeling a bit of chakra into his hand. He knew Komaza had slammed the kunai on purpose in an effort to scare him. It was in there deep so Naruto needed a little energy to help him pull it out.

His hand moved forward, quickly swiping the blade, grabbing the handle, pulling it out and tossing it in the air before catching it and placing it behind his waiter's apron. "There," Naruto smiled while taking his hand out, showing the kunai was gone, "I'll be back with your tea," he turned around and started leaving to the counter as the quiet girl let out a breath of relief.

Temari had watched the scene, already one of her hands was behind her back, holding onto the cloth of her giant fan as her eyes narrowed at the blonde boy. She saw the confrontation then sensed the little spike of chakra that surprisingly came from the young waiter.

'He isn't a villager,' she thought before turning to her brother who had an amused look on his face.

"Looks like some village punk is going to get their ass beaten," he chuckled as Temari had to roll her eyes at her brother, like she said 'no observational skills'.

She watched as several of the boy's friends went up to him at the counter but she had to wonder what else this boy was hiding.

"Naruto, what are you going to do?" Mikoshi asked worriedly with her two friends and Nejiri watching.

Naruto ordered another tea before he placed the broken glass pieces into the trash can. "I'll face him, and that's all it is."

Nejiri shook his head, "you have to understand that Komaza isn't the type to just challenge you one on one. He probably instructed his friends to ambush you once your shift ends."

The tone in his words didn't affect Naruto who calmly stared back at Nejiri, "even so, I will not back down, I won't run away."

Nejiri saw the confident look on the boy's eyes; Naruto really believed he could defeat Komaza and all his cronies. This confidence brought a smirk to Nejiri's face, "fine, at least I'll be your second man," Nejiri punched his fist into his palm, "Komaza has been asking for this anyways; I'll help you with the cronies."

Naruto smirked, "appreciate it," he waved it off, inwardly happy at his new friend as Nejiri nodded.

"Alright, I'll try to meet you after the Academy," Nejiri briefly waved, "I have some last minute training to do," he left but not before saying goodbye to Mikoshi and her friends.

Naruto nodded in response as he watched Nejiri leave. Mikoshi and the others still watched as Naruto then questioned, "Miko," he nodded towards the quiet girl on the table who had been taking subtle glances towards him as Mikoshi stared curiously at the direction, "who is she?"

Mikoshi spotted the girl as she replayed what had occurred earlier, the kunai, shattered glass, and a pale face.

"That's Matsuri, she's our classmate," Mikoshi explained as they sat on the counter instead of their table, "she doesn't have much friends but she tries to act brave in class even though we all see it."

Naruto stared at Mikoshi curious in thought, "see what?"

The sand ninja quirked her lips, "she has a problem in weapon's training. We all know she freezes for the first few moments then suddenly spaces out. We don't know why she does that but we think she is scared of mostly sharp weapons."

Naruto scratched his chin, "a fear of sharp weapons, like swords, kunais, and shurikens?"

Mikoshi nodded, "yeah."

A bell rang as a new glass of tea appeared on the top counter. Naruto took it before heading towards the quiet girl.

'If she has a phobia for weapons then why is she a ninja?' Naruto wondered as he approached her table, watching as the quiet girl he knew as Matsuri watched his approach...

"Hey," Temari spoke up to the waitress that brought them their food.

The waitress turned to the girl, a polite smile on her face as she asked, "yes?"

Temari stared at the blonde boy, "who is that?"

"Hm?" the waitress turned back, spotting the youngest worker before nodding her head, "oh, you mean Naruto?"

"Yes," Temari answered, "who is he?"

The waitress placed her hand to her side before replying, "Naruto has been working for at least a week here if not more," she turned to stare at the boy, her lips frowned, "he is a hard worker for his age. It's sad really; we all suspect he lives alone, trying to earn money just to live in the village."

'He lives alone?' Temari thought before something caught her attention, "Wait, he's not from this village?"

The waitress giggled, "of course not. You think we don't have background information on our employees?" she looked thoughtful, "Naruto is reported as a refugee from one of the Vegetable country's outer villages."

"Vegetable country, they don't have a ninja village there though right?"

The waitress shrugged, "I'm not sure but all I know is," she stared back at Naruto, "he's gotten pretty popular in a few days time. If you want more answers, you would need to talk to him but he has this personality that seems to draw people to him," she stared down at the girl, "but do be careful, he's still growing but I know he'll be a handsome catch for a pretty young girl like you," the waitress winked.

Temari blushed in embarrassment as Kankurou suddenly choked out, Temari glared at her brother as the waitress laughed before walking away.

"What's the sudden interest anyways?" Kankurou asked his mouth still quirked up in amusement.

Temari didn't answer him, only stared annoyed. She knew there was more to Naruto than just a regular country boy…

Gently, Naruto placed the tea on the table in front of the girl before speaking, "sorry again for earlier, you shouldn't have to see that."

The girl shook her head, "i-it's alright," she took the tea before closing her eyes, "I could have taken him anyways."

Naruto raised a brow at the bold statement before he grabbed one of the chairs and sat down, "oh really?"

"Y-yeah," she stumbled a bit on her word in which Naruto noted with humor, "only idiots like that make a scene."

In response to that statement, Naruto laughed softly which pretty much relieved the small awkward tension before Naruto stared at the mark on the table caused by the kunai, "I heard you have a fear of weapons?"he got straight to the point.

The girl Matsuri sagged in her seat, "n-no I don't."

Naruto quirked his lips, "listen, I know your name is Matsuri and you probably know my name right?"

She nodded.

"Well," Naruto slapped his laps before standing up from the chair, "if you actually want to admit it to me, you'll find me around," he smiled a friendly smile as she looked away, "I'll help you face your fear if you let me and only if you let me."

She still looked away, not responding as Naruto nodded sadly and walked away.

Lunch soon ended for the academy students, a lot stared at the blonde waiter before leaving, small snippets of the fight could be heard as they left but Naruto didn't seem too worried as he just continued working as if nothing was wrong.

Towards the end of his shift, business was slow as a few of the waiters calmly chatted with the others. As Naruto packed his items into his cabinet, one of the waitresses appeared to his side, a friendly smile on her face, "hey Naruto," she spoke.

Naruto turned back with a polite smile, "hey," he closed the cabinet door, "what's up?"

She had a smirk on her face as she answered, "Did you notice the blonde haired girl and the boy wearing all black with some kind of paint on his face?"

Naruto pondered for a moment while scratching his head, "no, I don't think I noticed them."

The waitress giggled, "Well the girl seemed to notice you," Naruto raised a curious brow as she continued; "I hope you don't mind but I told her you were from the vegetable country's caravan that came here last week."

"I don't mind," Naruto shrugged, he was lucky the people from the caravan helped him enter the village, "why was she asking though?"

She tapped her head in thought, "hmm I dun no," she stared down at Naruto, "I just thought she might have liked you but now that I think about it, I think she was surprised at something you did, not sure."

"Oh," Naruto replied as he wondered if maybe he should tone it down on the chakra usage here, "well, thanks for that info, I'm going to go now."

She nodded but a concerned look crossed her face, "be safe Naruto, I still remembered this afternoon, just don't get too hurt alright?"

Naruto chuckled, "alright," he exited from the back before waving off to the manager and leaving the building.

Now as he walked out of the establishment, he debated if he should wait for Nejiri or not so he stood there outside, still debating with himself until he sensed three figures far off, hiding behind the walls. Naruto acted as if it was nothing, 'so they're here,' he thought while placing his hands in his pockets and calmly walking away.

The three figures watched the blonde boy move before following a few steps behind.

Crunching steps in the sand signaled Naruto that he was being followed. The three figures he sensed had fallen in step with him from behind as he made his way to a secluded alley. It seemed like this was what the stalkers wanted as they grinned once Naruto entered the narrow alley between the two high sandy buildings.

Naruto stopped once he had walked halfway into the alley before turning around and staring at the three goons he had seen with Komaza earlier. They stopped and stared at him.

"Can I help you?" Naruto asked as one of them stepped up, smirking down at the boy.

"Regards from Komaza little punk," the academy student cracked his knuckles, "we're here to make sure you don't make it to the rematch."

A sigh escaped Naruto's throat as he stared at the three goons that weren't really taking him seriously, "and here I thought Komaza was a person of honor," Naruto lifted a hand up, signaling them forward, "come." The first boy ran forward with the goons following, heading towards a waiting Naruto…

…**Scene Change…**

Nejiri started to worry for the boy as he continued looking for him. He had arrived at the front of the boy's restaurant and he was a bit disappointed that Naruto didn't wait for him.

'I just don't get him,' Nejiri sighed before spotting one of the workers from the establishment. He walked up to her.

"Excuse me Ma'am," he greeted the young waitress.

She stopped and turned to him with a curious expression, "Yes?"

"I'm looking for Naruto, have you seen him?"

Shifting her body, she pointed towards a direction to the sides, "I spotted him moving towards that area, and I'm sure I spotted some other kids with him."

That statement alarmed Nejiri as he panicked for a moment. He turned to the direction before thanking the waitress and running off.

'Don't tell me it started already,' Nejiri ran forward, his mind worried over the brave boy he just met yesterday. It wasn't far when he thought he heard a noise in an alley nearby, quickly, he ran towards that direction, his mind prepared for a fight as he entered the dark alley between the two tall sandy buildings. When he arrived, what he saw seemed to shock him. Two goons where leaning on the wall, unconscious with bruises on their faces as he watched another fall down before his feet. He looked up, spotting the annoyed look on the blonde boy's face.

'He took out three academy students!?' Nejiri was alarmed, staring at the damage as Naruto finally noticed him.

"Sorry I didn't wait for you," Naruto smiled casually before walking forward, "I just wanted to get this over with." He walked past Nejiri before stopping and addressing him, "I'll let you in on something, I had training before," Naruto didn't turn around, he only spoke to Nejiri's back, "thank you though for trying to help me, it means a lot," Naruto nodded before leaving as Nejiri knew where he was heading off to…

…(Scene Change)…

A crowd of students stood around the field, all eyes centered on a confident looking boy named Komaza who continued to smirk with his arms crossed.

"I knew he was too chicken to come and face me!" he laughed in triumph after he spoke the words before stopping and inwardly chuckling to himself, 'my goons should have dealt with that twerp by now,' he thought with a smirk.

In the crowd, Naruto's friend Mikoshi stood with a worried expression along with her friends as they wondered where the blonde boy was. Mikoshi glanced around, wondering how many people here knew Naruto. 'Sure he has done some impressive things but still,' she spotted that one girl Naruto had talked to earlier today. The girl named Matsuri was hiding away near the wall, trying to be inconspicuous but she seemed a bit worried as well.

Glancing back at the crowd, Mikoshi wondered if the academy students placed their hope into Naruto. She heard rumors about Komaza, an upper classmen bully who was already considered genin level because of some secret technique that she wasn't too sure of. Whatever it was, no one has ever messed with the boy until now, and Naruto would be the one fighting him. 'But where is he?' Mikoshi wondered as she briefly met the eyes of Matsuri before turning away.

…

"Ok sis, tell me again what we are doing here?" it was an annoyed voice that came from a hooded figure on top of a roof near the training field.

The girl in question sat near the edge, her arms folded as her blonde hair tied in four different directions stuck out at the evening sun.

"You didn't need to come with me Kankurou," she continued watching in annoyance at the boy standing out on the field. The voice was aggravating really.

"Heh," Kankurou scratched at the bottom of his nose, "don't think I forgot about that villager boy picking a fight with an academy student. I'm here to see a slaughter."

His sister, Temari, briefly glanced at him before staring back at the field, 'it's not that I care about this match, more that I worry what will happen once it becomes night in the field,' her eyes were troubled as she stared beyond the field, into the sandy streets as the orange sky signaled night was soon approaching, 'that's when he appears to take this spot…'

…Still, Komaza continued to stand there, confident he had won before finally he lifted his hands from his sides and spoke, "I guess he's a no show," he chuckled as the crowd seemed a bit disappointed.

"Sorry I kept you late Komaza!"

"No, it can't be," Komaza whispered as he slowly turned to the source of the voice. In the street ahead, he saw the blonde haired boy, a smile on his face as one of his eyes was closed.

"I ran into trouble that I'm sure you would know about," Naruto continued walking towards his target who was startled.

'He took out my goons!?' Komaza momentarily took a step back before gritting his teeth and stepping forward, "I wouldn't know what you're talking about."

They stood facing each other as Naruto scoffed, "I see then," he said before his eyes became serious, "let's just get this over with…"

As the two stared each other down, a disturbed Nejiri arrived and joined the crowd. He knew now a little bit more about Naruto, he was no normal villager. He spotted Mikoshi and took note of her worried expression before he approached her. She was too distracted to notice him as he arrived.

"You're right," he whispered to her ear, catching her attention as she briefly glanced back at him, he nodded, "Naruto is strong, and he can beat Komaza."

"Clone technique!"

They both turned back to the fight as they heard Komaza's voice…

Naruto stood amidst several clones surrounding him, each of the clones standing confident with a smirk on their faces as one of them spoke, "can you find the real me loser before I pound you?" Komaza taunted as Naruto stood still, slightly looking around while the clones all shifted forward, ready to attack.

'One of the basic academy techniques,' Naruto thought as he waited for the next move. He watched the expressions on the illusion clones' faces, he noticed a bit of disappointment in them, maybe because the trick didn't really intimidate him.

"So, is this all you can do?" Naruto questioned to the surprise of the crowd.

The clones twitched in irritation as the blonde boy heard the bully speak out, "you'll soon regret those words."

The clones moved together, running quickly towards Naruto. It was an intimidating sight to see so many clones but Naruto calmly stood and waited. When the first clone struck, it disappeared. The clone technique was an illusion, nothing else; it didn't have the solid physical essence of a shadow clone or the elemental essence like a water clone. So instead of flinching, Naruto continued to wait there, taking what should be hits but instead, annoying images. There was one way to spot which one was the real one and Naruto waited for the right moment. He continued to look down, his eyes concentrating as the orange sky continued to cast his shadow behind him. The blonde suddenly formed a fist before stepping forward. He ran past two more illusion before lifting up his arm and shooting his fist forward.

What should have been a clone made contact with his fist. His knuckle felt the cheek bone of his enemy as the clones suddenly shimmered before disappearing. Komaza fell back, rolling on the floor as Naruto still stood out with his fist still in the same position.

"He found him!?" Nejiri was shocked with the rest of the students. Not only did the clones fail in distracting the boy but amidst all the illusions, Naruto had found the real one in the easiest of manners.

"H-how?" Komaza was slightly scared now as he rubbed at his cheek. He was still lying on the floor as he squinted at how strong that punch was…it almost knocked him out.

"Aren't you in the academy?" Naruto questioned while standing calm again. He looked around him, watching the faces of the crowd as he sighed at the attention, he never liked it, He turned back to Komaza who lifted himself up, "There is one fatal flaw in the clone technique that most people can pick up, if you use too much clones, it is simple to tell."

The students around the fight waited for the answer. Naruto stayed quiet, it looked as if he wasn't going to continue.

"Well," Komaza spat as he became angry once again, "what is it?"

Naruto shrugged, "I'm not your sensei, go ask him."

A sweat drop appeared on several students as Komaza seethed in anger and placed his hands together and started concentrating on his chakra, "fine then Mr. know- it- all," suddenly the bully started forming several hand seals as the crowd who had seen this technique before knew what he was doing, "why don't you try stopping this," he slapped his hand together as Naruto spotted his chest rising, "Wind release: gale winds," he blew out all of his breath while Naruto spotted the winds collecting sand all around the attack as a big gust of wind slammed against him.

Naruto covered his eyes as he felt the winds lifting him up until suddenly he went flying back and crashing into the sand behind him. Shaking his head, Naruto quickly stood up, that attack used the wind element and it was pretty impressive but since he landed in the pile of sand behind him, he didn't take much damage. He stared back at Komaza, the boy was breathing hard which meant most of his chakra was consumed in that attack.

"What, you're still up," Komaza said tiredly as Naruto had to question if that attack was supposed to knock him out or something.

"Fine then."

Naruto spotted the boy performing the attack again, he wondered if Komaza still had enough chakra in him to attack.

"I've been polite with you but now I am going to end this," Naruto said as his hands started forming seals of his own.

This alarmed most of the crowd, here was a boy they have never seen in their academy or even heard of and yet, here he was, performing a ninja technique.

"Like whatever you know with help you," Komaza yelled back as he slapped his hands together again and blew out, "Wind release: gale winds!" he blew another gust as Naruto finished and placed one hand in front of his mouth.

"Fire release: absorbing fireball," Naruto spoke quietly as he blew one single ball of fire towards the large wind.

Komaza had to laugh, albeit tiredly, at the tiny attack until he saw what happened once it connected with his wind technique.

Instead of being blown out, the fire grew larger as the wind seemed to be dying out. For a moment, the two techniques froze as the fire continued to grow bigger until the wind stopped.

Naruto disappeared as the large ball of fire exploded, obstructing the view of many. The impact of the blast nearly knocked the crowd back as small shots of fire leaked around the area. When the fire died down, the crowd wondered if the two boys managed to escape since they were the closest ones to the blast.

They stared at the spot Naruto and Komaza was supposed to be at, only to find nothing.

"Where did they go?" Mikoshi asked, slightly worried as Nejiri wondered the same.

Nejiri felt some one tapping his shoulder as he turned back to look.

"Naruto!" he jumped in shock as Naruto stood there, carrying an unconscious Komaza before laying him down on the ground.

Nejiri checked on the boy Komaza while Mikoshi went to Naruto. The crowd gave them space as Nejiri and Mikoshi checked for injury.

"You had me worried Naruto," Mikoshi spoke as she gave the blonde a look. Naruto's response was to smile sheepishly, "the fights over, at least, I'm sure that Komaza fainted from that last technique he used," Naruto stared at the unconscious Komaza, "he forced a technique with only little chakra to spare."

Nejiri nodded as he stood up, "Naruto's right, other than that, I think he should be fine."

There was silence again in the crowd as Naruto started feeling uncomfortable, "what…?"

In one of the roof nearby, two siblings stared in surprise at the battle. The one wearing a black hood seemed the most shocked.

"Holy crap, did you see that!?" he had his hand on top on his head, still trying to figure out what happened.

'So there is more to this person than I thought,' the sandy blonde girl to the boy's right thought as she stared with narrowed eyes.

"Temari, so does this mean that brat is a ninja?"

Temari shook her head, "I don't know Kankurou, but I do know he isn't what he appears."

Kankurou nodded as he looked back at the crowd. His eyes widened as Temari spotted her brother's body tremble.

"Kankurou, what is it?" she questioned as she turned back to look at the crowd.

"Look over there, i-its…" Kankurou pointed at a figure approaching the crowd.

Temari stared questionably before spotting who her brother was staring at, she gasped, "Gaara."

Naruto continued to smile as several of the students patted him on the back.

"So you can spot a fake just by its shadow?" one questioned as Naruto nodded.

Naruto was being bombarded with other questions as he tried to answer a few of them, albeit awkwardly while Mikoshi and her friends watched Naruto with hidden mirth. Nejiri smiled as well while he took care of Komaza, he guessed he should be the one to take Komaza and his goons home for the night.

The scene didn't last long as they heard a scream from the crowd, "RUN!"

Most turned back to look as they saw the panting breath of a blonde hair girl with a giant fan, she pointed back as she stared at Naruto, "I suggest if you don't want to die, you get away from here."

Naruto was about to question but others soon spotted the figure approaching.

"It's the demon!"

There were screams from the crowd as Naruto and company faced the streets. A boy with blood red hair walked calmly forward as the crowd continued to disassemble for fear of their lives.

"What's going on?" Naruto questioned. He spotted the white pale looks on Mikoshi's and Nejiri's faces.

A hand grabbed Naruto's shoulder before shoving him forward; the boy stared back at the sandy blonde girl who had warned them in the first place. Her face was serious as she spoke, "you're new here so you wouldn't understand," she pointed back at the red haired boy that Naruto figured had everyone running, "if you get in his way, he will kill you."

She didn't let him speak as Naruto felt himself being pulled again from behind, he turned back and spotted his friends Mikoshi and Nejiri pulling him, "we have to get out of here," Nejiri spoke as he held on to a slightly awake Komaza who stood wobbly.

Naruto hesitated for a moment before turning back to the blonde girl behind him. He stared in mild confusion when he couldn't fine her, as if she just disappeared.

"Come on, let's go," Nejiri was frantic as Naruto started moving with the group.

"But shouldn't the anbu deal with this?" Naruto turned back, staring as what seemed like a normal boy his age continue to walk closer to the training grounds.

Nejiri glanced back at Naruto, "they tried" his eyes stared ahead"they died trying to stop him."

The blonde was alarmed but still confused; did this person kill just anyone?

He stared back at the boy only to widen his eyes at what he saw. Naruto stopped running as Mikoshi and Nejiri glanced back at him.

"What is she doing," they heard him mumble as he ran back towards the red haired boy.

"Naruto wait," Nejiri tried to stop him but watched as he ran off. Komaza seemed awake as Nejiri released him with a glare, "go now."

Komaza didn't have to be told twice as he took one look behind him before running away.

"Come on."

Mikoshi heard her friends call her but she had to stop along with Nejiri as they stared at Naruto who was heading towards the demon of the sands…

It was the girl from before, in the restaurant that Naruto had spoken too about her fear for weapons. Matsuri was her name that Naruto remembered as he watched the girl approach the red haired boy. It just confused him how this boy around his age was a demon. He listened in as Matsuri was speaking.

"E-everyone is afraid of you," the girl tried to sound brave but the weak knees and not so brave eyes that stared at the so called demon gave her weakness away.

The demon boy continued moving, his eyes not even regarding the girl as Matsuri continued to back away.

"B-but, there has to be a reason for this!" she closed her eyes as she stared down at the floor while kneeling. Naruto noticed something about Matsuri as she kneeled on the floor; tears were in her eyes as if she was remembering something, "you're a sand ninja, why would you kill your own people?"

The boy stopped in place as his dark eyes stared down at Matsuri, as if he finally noticed her. They stared at each other for a moment until the he spoke, "you're in my way."

She didn't move as the sand around her shifted. She choked in fear as she finally noticed she had gained his attention. It was his eyes, the gaze that paralyzed her. It left her gasping for air as she felt herself losing it.

'Am I, going to die?' she thought as the sand rose up around her as she closed her eyes and waited.

They didn't see the kunai whistling through the air, passing by behind her before she disappeared in a blink of an eye as the sand slammed down on her spot.

There was a thump to the sides, indicating the kunai had implanted itself to one of the buildings. The demon boy narrowed his eyes as he stared on top of the building and spotted a blonde figure.

"Dry your eyes, Matsuri," Naruto spoke as the girl opened her eyes, staring up at the blonde boy.

"Naruto?" she questioned as she felt herself breathe again. Naruto nodded as he continued to stare down at the red haired boy, he placed her down as she wiped her eyes and stood still.

"You just experienced killer intent, kind of like an illusion technique but slightly different," Naruto said as he picked up a certain kunai attached with a famous rite to it. Matsuri continued to stare as she tried to comprehend what just happened.

"H-how do you know that?" she asked

"Read it in a scroll."

Naruto suddenly lifted her again before tossing the kunai back towards the ground. He disappeared in a flash of yellow and brown before sand slammed down on his spot, destroying part of the building.

Naruto appeared in the ground with Matsuri by his side, picking up his kunai once again.

"You are strong," the boy had commented with glee, Naruto noted before sand shifted around the red haired boy again, "fight me."

Naruto shook his head, "no, I don't want to fight you."

The boy narrowed his eyes, "you will fight me."

Before the sand could move again, Naruto placed one hand up, stopping the boy for a moment as he spoke, "can you at least tell me your name; everyone seems to be calling you a demon."

The boy stood straight as he folded his arms together, "then that should be my name."

Naruto shook his head sadly, "no it's not, I don't want to hear it from others, I want to hear it from you, what is your name?"

That questioned surprised the boy for a moment before he answered, "Gaara."

"Gaara," Naruto spoke the name before nodding, "my name is Naruto."

"It doesn't matter," Gaara lifted one hand up, "you are dead."

Naruto didn't notice but sand had crept up behind him and Matsuri. It formed into spikes before shooting towards them.

"See yah around, Gaara," They disappeared once more but this time, Gaara noted that he hadn't used any kunais…

…**Scene Change…**

Naruto appeared in the air before falling down into the soft bed with Matsui to the side of him. They laid there for a moment, each one staring at his ceiling as Matsuri realized they were in an apartment.

She shot up and spoke surprised, "How are you doing that!?"

Naruto chuckled at her shocked expression before speaking, "I placed rites around this village, in my room, and in several other places," He took out a kunai with one of the rites. Matsuri took one look at it and froze before Naruto remembered her fear and hid it again, "sorry, I thought you got over it when you saw me using it earlier."

Matsuri shook her head before staring up at the ceiling again. There, she spotted a paper rite stuck on top of the ceiling. It had strange letters in it as she wondered how this person got a hold of the technique.

"You think you would have been able to beat him?"

Naruto remembered the way Gaara was able to move the sand that way. In a village filled with sand, he knew he wouldn't last that long against him.

"No, besides," Naruto sat up and stared at her, "I wonder about him…"

They looked at each other for a moment, Naruto in thought as Matsuri felt awkward before blushing and turning away.

"Sorry to kick you out like this," Naruto started directing her near the door, "you can visit me anytime but there is something I need to do," he apologized again as Matsuri soon found herself outside the door.

"I'm really sorry Matsuri," he apologized with his voice sounding so sincere as he finally closed the door..

Matsuri took a look around the place, "so this is where he lives," she spoke to herself before shrugging. She knew after that encounter, Naruto would be twitchy. Maybe she would see him again tomorrow.

Then it hit her as she paused. She stared back at the door that belonged to the very person who had saved her.

'I was going to die, I knew I was going to die,' she smiled again, this time relieved as she thought back to earlier, 'then, like in those stories where a prince rescues the damsel, he came and I knew I would be alright,' she bowed low towards the door, "thank you Naruto," she was grateful for him, and maybe, she would be able to trust him with her problem…

Naruto felt bad what he did but now he knew about Gaara, he needed to plan, come up with something since he knew he had attracted more attention than he needed. If anyone ever found out he used that technique, there would be so many problems and he had to be ready for them, "Gaara, I wonder…" he started trailing off in thought…

* * *

…_**On the Next Adventures of Naruto…**_

After Naruto's confrontation with his first demon container Gaara, Naruto struggles trying to befriend this cold hearted boy. In the meanwhile, Matsuri tells Naruto an old Suna story of the 'Iron Sand,' something that seems to interest Naruto. And even as Temari tries to figure out who this blonde waiter is, the village appears to be preparing for some sort of festival while Mikoshi suddenly seems a bit too busy for her friends. But lurking in the dark, the newly Sound village's leader is a bit too eager to meet the Kazekage and maybe Naruto might make an appearance that would set him on track to his final stay in Sand village…


	4. A Sand covered Leaf: Encounter

**Notes: Do I have to say it again…don't take the couples so seriously, they might not even happen thank you. Oh btw, just remember one thing, Matsuri and Mikoshi aren't really close, not yet at least in the beginning. If you remember that, it might explain her actions in the beginning. (So you don't ask me why that happened and stuff)**

**ON A SERIOUS NOTE: I am really getting tired of this anime. All except for the characters don't expect the story line to be the same here and there.**

* * *

…**A Day Skip Later…**

'_Do you want to hear a story?'_

"_Sure"_

'_I'm not sure if I have all the facts right, but it goes like this…'_

…_Long ago, before the second ninja war started we had a talented leader. He had this ability to shape his chakra to form magnetic fields which enabled him to control metal. He invented an attack known as 'Iron Sand technique' which was just like how Gaara uses his sands to attack, except, this was made out of small metallic pieces. _

_Well, before he was even chosen to become the Third Kazekage, he was a Jounin. They say in his travels, he had an apprentice; a very brilliant apprentice who had devised a way of forming magnetic attacks just like the third Kazekage was able to do. I remember rumors of a secret training facility out in the desert that was made by the Third Kazekage and the apprentice. It was in there that the Kazekage had mastered his iron sand technique but the thing is, we never heard if the apprentice was able to fully copy his master's technique, nor did we ever hear the tale of what happened to the apprentice. When the war started and the Third Kazekage mysteriously vanished, many had gone looking for the secret facility in hopes of finding what they can to use for the war. With the changing winds, large amounts of sands, and not even an accurate pinpoint of the area, the facility was presumed lost with the research forever gone…_

Naruto had awoken to the bright little sunlight that shined through his windows and into his face. He stretched his arm up in the air with a yawn before scratching at his eyes. He didn't work yesterday so he decided to stay in. He felt nervous about the whole Gaara encounter and the fight with Komaza that he decided to lie low and stay in his apartment the whole day yesterday. It didn't stop that girl Matsuri from coming over though.

He got out of bed and slowly made his way to the bathroom; he needed to get ready for work but wondered if he attracted any unwanted attention.

When he started the shower, his mind remembered to yesterday when that girl Matsuri came over. It was awkward at first since it was just the two of them but they chatted. It seemed as if the whole academy was excited with news of his match against Komaza. She later explained that most of the teachers who heard didn't think much of it since most of the stories told made it sound like Naruto was a regular ninja from the academy. The story was turned around in many points that most didn't know what to believe, but there was a rumor that most agreed on, they all thought Naruto had died facing Gaara…that surprised Naruto for a moment.

And Komaza, he refused to talk about the fight but Matsuri had told him that Komaza seemed a bit more settled, not really picking on anyone for the moment or bragging as he often did.

She then explained how Nejiri, Mikoshi, and her friends were looking for him the other day, amongst other people. He remembered her saying how the restaurant was so packed, the manager had to tell them that he wasn't working that day in order to calm the students. They had a small laugh on that as Matsuri gave him more details of what had happened. It seemed Mikoto was really worried for him, Matsuri even told him she had broken into tears when he didn't show up to work, they all thought he was dead. It was a wonder though, everyone didn't know that he had gone back to rescue Matsuri, no one knew why he had gone back and Matsuri didn't bother telling any of them what had happened.

Matsuri later then teased Naruto that maybe Mikoshi was a bit too close to him, in which Naruto just laughed it off as if that would ever happen.

Naruto had to smile as he felt the warm water rinse his body, Mikoshi was a friend, like everyone else, but it brought warmth to his heart that she and others had cared deeply for him.

He was worried yesterday though; that some ninja from the Sand village would take notice to him, but Matsuri had told him that most ninjas stayed clear from Gaara. Even the older ninjas don't panic much at the noise anymore since a lot of others have died fighting against the boy, it was just like they had given up keeping tabs on the demon boy. Then it grew sad as Matsuri told him about Gaara, how no one knew where he came from. They only knew the Kazekage had brought in the boy but now, the Kazekage couldn't kick him out and rumors circulated that it was because the boy was stronger than the leader of this village.

Naruto turned off the water as he let himself settle in the steam for a moment. Gaara was murderous, he knew that, but the only question he had was why Gaara did the things he did, why he killed so much?

Matsuri couldn't really answer that, only telling him how Gaara had been killing most sand ninjas that gotten near him.

When night came yesterday and Matsuri had visited after the academy, the topic got lighter when Naruto asked her about this village. It seemed like the girl loved it here, she told him of stories around the village, brief history and some gossips that he didn't really understood. Then she told him about one of the old leaders of the village. It shocked Naruto to hear that the boy Gaara hosted an ancient sand demon named Shukaku. Even though the origin of where this boy came from was a mystery, he now knew the demon had been here long enough that it inhabited other bodies in the past. Even the tale of the Iron Sand Kazekage, who was inspired by the sand attacks of the Shukaku inhabitant of the time, kept Naruto imagining most of the night. To think that there was a way to learn the iron sand attack, he drooled over the thought before shaking his head as he stood in front of a fog filled mirror.

He wiped at the mirror, getting a look at his bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and the whisker scar cheeks before turning on the faucet and washing his face. Suddenly, he paused as he recalled what he just saw. Slowly, he looked back at the mirror with one of his hands reaching towards his cheek. His cheek was smooth and clear as Naruto wondered if it was his imagination playing tricks on him.

He shook his head and continued to get ready for the day…

…_**Scene Change…**_

It was morning when the fourth Hokage was seen walking down the street. The fourth, or Minato, usually left his manor and some speculated that he never really stayed home long, whether because of the quiet emptiness of the manor or the small depression Minato would undergo in his home, most had to wonder if their beloved Hokage would return to normal.

Minato paused as he spotted a familiar person on the streets. She was wearing a regular chuunin flak jacket while he could spot a few bandages weaved around her arms and legs. She turned around as their eyes met, red ones met blue as he waved at her in a friendly manner.

He took a couple of more steps before finally standing in front of her.

"Good morning Lord Hokage," she had briefly bowed as Minato nodded in turn.

"Morning…" he paused for a moment before smiling sheepishly, "I seem to have forgotten your name."

She just smiled politely, "I was one of the ninjas in the stand when we first met."

Minato thought back to that day as he did remember her but then… his cheeks briefly blushed as he shook his head when remembered a certain purple haired ninja.

She saw the blush before laughing softly at her leader as she spoke, "my name is Kurenai Yuuhi, and it's finally good to meet you Lord Hokage."

Minato chuckled, "please, call me Minato," she nodded as he looked around for a moment before asking, "what were you doing?"

This was where she scowled briefly before turning to a different direction, "It seems my 'friend' is an hour late," she sighed before shaking her head, "we were supposed to have breakfast and discuss the entry requirements for a Jounin level ninja."

He followed her gaze and waited for a brief moment while staring ahead as if they were expecting some one before she sighed again, "I guess I am off then."

Minato thought for a moment as he realized he had some time to kill. He really didn't know what he was going to do this morning, maybe visit his students Rin and Kakashi and maybe have breakfast with them but lately, they have been busy with their missions so Minato decided against it. He turned back to the ninja Kurenai, he could help her he guessed since he was technically on a vacation and had nothing much to do.

"I can help you," he said as she seemed surprised for a moment.

"No sir, I couldn't ask that of you," Kurenai was a bit embarrassed. She felt bad for the Fourth Hokage, ever since he had just lost his son. She knew he had been depressed lately and she was a bit happy that her friend Anko had lightened the Hokage's mood somewhat but, she just couldn't ask that of him.

Minato waved a hand, he insisted, "I don't have much to do but train, this will seem like a good time to know what's going on in the village, so please," he made a polite gesture, "shall we?" he smiled his best smile.

In the end, Kurenai had agreed, she couldn't say no to the village leader so, she led the way.

The walk was a bit awkward since they have never really met before, maybe a few times when she needed to collect mission scrolls but other than that, none.

Minato followed Kurenai to a humble looking place. There was steam rising from the chimney on the top as he spotted several people under the establishment, already having breakfast. They both entered the wide open area while they pushed the string beads, which hung low from the top of the ceiling, to the sides before taking a seat. A friendly waiter recognized the Hokage and quickly greeted them by taking their drinks.

As things settled, Minato spoke, "so, how do we order here?"

The Chuunin woman sat in front of him and pointed off to the sides, towards a large board with writing on it. Minato smiled sheepishly before it became quiet again.

"If you don't mind me asking, who were you waiting for?" Minato started off as Kurenai found herself a bit embarrassed with her answer.

"I was actually waiting for Asuma to come meet with me," she looked away briefly. She had a slight crush on the man and Minato being here kind of made it awkward.

Minato nodded before looking at the white board again, wondering what to order as the table grew silent once more.

This time, Kurenai decided to speak, "Lor…Minato," she wasn't used to calling him by the first name, "so far, how has your vacation been?"

"I don't know really," Minato answered truthfully as he really seemed lost, "all I do is train, read a few scrolls, and research…I am not sure if that really is a vacation."

"You should do something more relaxing sir," Kurenai lectured, "what you're doing is work; it doesn't sound like a vacation to me."

Minato chuckled as he leaned back on his seat, "but what is there to do?" he stared long at the ceiling as his lips curved down, "I just don't know anymore, all I know is my work."

It saddened her greatly to watch the village's powerful leader so depressed. She didn't know what to do though, and she knew there was nothing in the world that can replace the family her leader had lost.

An idea came to her mind as she spoke, "what kind of research are you working on?"

Minato seemed to snap back to reality as he turned back to Kurenai, his eyes sparked briefly as if he was a bit excited, "seals, or more specifically, Kanji."

"Kanji?" she had asked as Minato grinned and started explaining with his hand out there for motion.

"As many know, some of my famous attacks are derived from rites or seals but then what powers these seals?" He looked excited as Kurenai smiled and continued to listen, this was fascinating to her as well as to him, "you see, kanji is the beginning bases of building a seal but then, there are thousands of kanji letters, thousands of old style kanji and many kinds of seals derived from them. What I have figured out is that, I can actually use these old kanji letters in battle or in everyday use."

"Really?" Kurenai was very interested, she had never heard of anyone using just kanji letters for battle, "how does it work?"

Minato scratched his head as if he wasn't sure yet, "all I can say is, with more testing, I know I can do more," he placed his hands in his pockets for a moment as the waiter returned with the drinks. The waiter placed a ceramic mug on their table, one for each of them as steam rose from the content.

They ordered their meal as Minato had taken out a small piece of paper and a charcoal pencil.

He continued his discussion once the waiter left, "what I found is, blood works better with seals then ink but I would rather use ink than pencils," he dangled the charcoal pencil in the air for a bit before drawing what Kurenai recognized was a container seal, a regular seal that stored items that would be considered silly for many ninjas to carry while travelling, aka: windmill shurikens, giant clubs, and the likes…or just to store extra items.

Once he finished the seal, he placed chakra into it which brought it to life before he sealed a pair of chopsticks.

"See," he showed her the seal as he pointed at the letterings, "these seals mean something, these pictures and lines," he calmed a bit before continuing, " Seals to me is an art, with a creative mind, anything is possible, just look at these," he placed it down on the table with his pencil still pointing at the symbols, "back then, kanji was created by bringing pictures to letters, words that actually mix art. I believe there is a way to use this knowledge to create even more powerful seals which could be disastrous or extremely helpful."

Kurenai was nodding her head as she pictured the whole concept, but then, how do you get one regular kanji to work, she asked, "how does it work then, do you need just one kanji or a couple. Can only one kanji work at a time or does it need a whole group?"

Minato nodded as Kurenai watched him take his tea and placed it in the center table between them. He slowly brought a finger to his mouth, biting down as a small drop of blood appeared before he brought it down to the side of the dry mug. She watched in interest as he wrote a kanji that wasn't familiar to her. It looked like the kanji for water but then again, there was something else, maybe wind?

"Like I said, there are thousands of letters," he turned the cup, with the side he had written the kanji in, to her, "This one is ice."

It glowed for a bit before Minato smiled and offered his drink to her. Kurenai stared curiously before placing her hand on the cup; she widened her eyes as she felt it before she stared into the mug. The once hot tea was now frozen solid; she even poked at it with her chopsticks before she stared back at Minato, "amazing," she said as he nodded in excitement as well.

"I know," he replied as he erased the kanji and Kurenai noted that it was still frozen before he wrote a new one on the sides, still, with his blood. This time, she had recognized the letter 'Ka' for fire.

"Some explosive notes have this, but here, I want to show that letters themselves are powerful," he activated and they watched as steam rose from the cup once again. Minato took the cup, blew a little and took a sip before smiling and placing it back down.

"I have never realized that the letters themselves are powerful alone," Kurenai had spoken a bit excited at this new info, "but, how do you plan on using this info to help you?"

This was where Minato had chuckled and brushed the side of his hair as if he wasn't sure yet, "well, it will be amazing once I figure out what I can do with this. I have a few ideas, maybe I can design new notes, say, instead of the regular exploding notes, maybe I can make ones that freezes the targets completely, or maybe I can probably use one as a focus, thus maybe making nature manipulation a bit more easier," he shrugged, "who knows," he said even though he still seemed excited.

Kurenai had found it a bit cute when she saw her leader brush one of his golden bangs aside before she caught her-self. She felt embarrassed at the thought before she turned away and spoke with a feint blush on her cheeks, "it will be amazing to see that in battle, I wish you luck."

"Thank you," Kurenai glanced back at Minato. She watched as he suddenly sagged his shoulders while his eyes dulled somewhat.

"Minato, what's wrong?"

He didn't look at her as he whispered more to himself while staring into his mug, "I sort of had this dream," his mouth tugged into a sad smile as Kurenai was aware of the pain coming from her leader, "I dreamt that I would pass this on to my son."

Kurenai stared down at her drink as well, but she continued to listen to his whisper.

"You see, I had this vision that he became my apprentice," he let out a small chuckle as he was lost in his imagination, "I would teach him everything I knew, everything in my family, and he would enjoy it, as much as I would…"

His golden bangs had covered his eyes as Kurenai couldn't stand to watch him suffer. 'All this pain,' Kurenai thought as her hand from the table twitched and she continued to stare at Minato. She spotted a liquid drop into his mug from his hair covered eyes and she grew hesitant before finally moving her hand.

Minato felt something soft and gentle touch his hand. He looked up and saw the comforting smile from Kurenai as he looked down at the table. Her hand was wrapped around one of his own as she gave a gentle squeeze. He smiled before closing his eyes and breathing in once more.

"I'm sorry," Minato spoke as he regained his composure.

"Don't be," Kurenai answered back as he smiled again and nodded.

They glanced back at the hand contact before Kurenai pulled back and Minato looked away, both of them with a feint blush on their cheeks.

"S-so," Minato spoke out awkwardly as Kurenai opted to remain quiet at the moment.

"You're trying to become a Jounin right?"

She nodded as she seemed to regain some composure as well and answered, "I have already been recommended by a superior, all I need to know is… what else is required of me?"

Minato hummed a bit in thought before speaking, "listen tonight come over to my manor. I can help you prepare for the tests," she stared at him and noted his serious expression, "becoming a Jounin is not an easy task, and sometimes, it can kill the most inexperienced Chuunin."

She inwardly gulped at that as Minato soon smiled which confused her as he said, "but with a little help," he winked as a smile rose on her face from that action, "you'll pass it easy."

Kurenai's smile was beautiful to watch as she closed her eyes and briefly bowed in thanks, "I would appreciate the help," she looked at him again and this time, her eyes seemed brighter than before as she said, "tonight, I will accept your help."

After that was said, the waiter came with their food and they continued the rest of the morning with normal conversations that brought the two closer as friends, for Minato, he had finally found someone to chat to, and to Kurenai, she finally got to know the Great Golden Flash for the ninja he truly is…

…**Scene Change…**

With her pales eyes that stared without a glimpse of emotion, she had stood there, gazing in the back of a dark haired boy. Trees surrounded them, the place was secluded, and he turned around with an equal gaze of his own.

"So far, you need to change," his eyes narrowed briefly as the girl twitched before looking down. He continued, "This agreement can only work if you actually act like the noble you are." He walked towards her, his eyes scanning her as he continued to think for a moment.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," she continued to glance down with her eyes seemingly dead. The boy paused as he spotted the familiar look, he sighed before turning away.

"Stop it now."

She looked up once again at the back of Sasuke's head.

"First thing, you need to stop apologizing," he briefly glanced back with those uncaring eyes as she nodded as best as she could, "it makes you look weak."

She bit her lip as a response, inwardly; she always thought of herself as weak, she didn't know what she could do without anyone's guidance.

She looked up and found dark eyes glaring towards her as she turned away again and he spoke, "second, stop thinking…actually," Sasuke had moved to the sides, making sure she saw him, "stop caring, understand?"

She looked at him and Sasuke saw her eyes that betrayed her emotions at the moment. Her eyes were strong, as if she would never do what he had asked. Then, Sasuke said one thing that he knew would change her.

He closed his eyes and spoke, "it hurts doesn't it?"

She blinked in surprise as he reopened his eyes to stare at her. She remained silent but Sasuke saw her shoulders slumped.

"Having to know you were weak, that you couldn't help him…them," he seemed to be losing himself before he took a breath and continued, "If you continue this way, you'll only get weaker. Who else do you care for, who else will die because of you?"

She didn't answer and Sasuke grew angry as he walked, once more, up to her, "That boy, the Hokage's son. What was his name again?"

Hinata glared at him, the action was so surprising that Sasuke momentarily lost his balance before she spoke in a cool voice, "his name is Naruto."

And then, Sasuke smirked and nodded, "yes, that is how you should speak. You need to learn that not everything can be solved with," he seemed to sniff in distaste as he paused for a moment, "with compliance. You will find that all you have and all you have ever loved will be taken away. You have to grow stronger because power is what you need to protect and power is what you need to be taken serious, understand?" he turned back to her as she seemed to be thinking over his words.

To her, she understood what he was saying, but, she had to disagree with him. It was true, she needed to become stronger but she would not stop caring for others. She knew in her heart, she just couldn't do that but then, as she remembered the only boy in her life that she had ever cared for, she just couldn't see herself with anyone any more.

These past weeks, the days that have gone by, she knew Sasuke had grown irritated with her as other girls that were surprised by the info of them had gone up to her. To say girls can't be vicious is another statement. There were several times Sasuke had to step in and force them to stay away from her but then again, Sasuke would also stare at her in irritation until today…he had finally talked to her personally.

"Let me offer you something else in our 'agreement,'" he walked around her like he normally did as she was starting to get used to him, "I need a sparring partner. I realize I can't grow stronger just by attacking wooden dummies that don't even try to fight back, and I would further my fighting skills if I had a capable partner." He stared at her as she continued to listen with open ears.

"I will fight you and you will learn, you will grow stronger and thus, so will I. I need to grow stronger, even more so then you, never forget that above all else, I am an avenger. I won't go easy on you and you will get hurt…do you want that?"

She stared at him for the longest time. No one would accept that, it just sounded too painful to her. Then she would have to remember what it felt like in that moment when all she could do was watch in the back while the very person she had cared for gave his life to save her and all she could do was cry and run away, leaving him to his fate.

"And what do you want in return?" she spoke again, her voice unemotional.

Sasuke smirked; he knew she was learning, "I need you to be a Hyuuga."

She was confused at the statement as Sasuke re-spoke.

"I know they train you to fight, and I know they train you to use those eyes of yours. I've heard how the Hyuuga clan is one of the deadliest martial artists in the land; they are proud, strict, and ruthless. I need you to be that, be proud of your clan as I am proud of mine. Only then, can we both become stronger. Do you understand…Hinata?"

It was here that Hinata realized what she needed to do. For years she had been trained by her father, as fierce as ever. Even now as she trained with the man, she had sported many bruises and sometimes, sprained limps. She tired of always being looked down on by others, especially her father, and she knew he was right, as twisted as it sounded, he was right.

She gazed upon him with eyes uncaring and her voice spoke so neutrally that she inwardly surprised herself how much she sounded like one of the other main branch members, "I will do it Sasuke," he nodded in approval as she started walking away, "hurry or else we will be late to the academy," she stopped with her head held high and her back straight as she remembered the posture she was taught by one of her strict teachers. She glanced back at him expectantly as Sasuke's smirk almost turned to a smile and he walked next to her. She slipped a hand underneath his arm and they both walked down the street together, both like how nobles should act when dating, and both how proud clan members should be.

To Hinata though there was a fierce determination inside of her. No longer would she be looked down by others, no longer would she be weak.

'Even if I have to hide my heart, I will grow stronger,' she felt herself start to tear as she closed her eyes and reopened them, both seemingly uncaring, 'I won't be hiding in the back anymore, it's a promise.'

She glanced at the Uchiha she was with before looking at her destination. A part of her died that night weeks ago, and now, a part of her hungered for anger. She didn't even care at the looks they were receiving as they walked into the Academy together, or the voices that spoke around them. All she could do was walk with her head held high along with the very person she would have never thought she would form an agreement with. She knew that she and Sasuke weren't friends, they weren't enemies either, they were acquaintances and deep down inside, she preferred it that way. She knew she would never care for Sasuke the way she had cared for Naruto but that didn't mean they couldn't look out for each other, no, they would use each other to become stronger and they would use each other when the situation demanded it. For she had lost the only person she could have ever found loving, and now, she was stuck with a person she didn't mind to have…it opened her eyes to the world, for it can be a sad and cruel one indeed…

…**Scene Change Sand Village…**

Once Naruto had returned to his work place, he received several looks of shock in the morning. It seems they all thought he was dead and to explain why, yesterday, they had heard that Naruto had faced the demon of the village. They didn't know why and Naruto opted to keep the reason that he had to save Matsuri to himself before they told him that anyone who faced Gaara always ended up dead.

He was sent to work in the kitchen for most of the day. Helping the cooks or cleaning the dishes, but he thought back to Gaara and the boy's ability thanks to the demon within the person. The village of Sand was Gaara's home turf, sand was literally everywhere in this area. With the ability to control sand, even some of higher level Jounins would have problems dealing with Gaara. Maybe if they brought him elsewhere were they weren't surrounded by tons and tons of sand, they would have a higher chance of defeating him.

'But I don't want them to kill him,' Naruto thought with his mind recalling everything he was told about the boy. To Naruto, it seemed like Gaara grew up hated, maybe that was why he became a killer. He knew he had killed many ninjas in self defense because of what Matsuri had said but, then there were other incidents, just like the day ago, that Gaara had killed regular ninjas or even villagers…that idea alone made Naruto solemn in the morning.

The day started and Naruto continued to remain in the kitchen, out of sight from the others as he started turning his attention elsewhere from Gaara. In order to keep those thoughts out, he resorted to taking mental notes on how the cooks made certain foods. They looked simple enough and he tried to remember some of the herbs the cooks have asked him to restock from the cabinet or the name of some powders. He also asked a few questions like where does this come from, how long does this meat sit and others like it. It seemed like the cooks didn't mind him asking and so, Naruto continued asking away until he understood a few concepts.

Time goes by quickly when a person is willing to learn. Naruto studied what he could in the kitchen, even when the afternoon approached. The manger, a middle aged woman who didn't look so young or too old to Naruto, walked out into the kitchen. Her attention was set on the blonde boy as her mouth quirked downwards.

"Naruto," she called out as Naruto turned around from the boiling pot. He was confused as he spotted the owner's expression. He stepped forward, wiped his hand on his cloth and stared at her curiously as she continued.

"Listen Naruto," she seemed a bit hesitant at first as she briefly glanced behind her, "yesterday, a lot of things happened, and let's just say, you've become very popular."

Naruto watched as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He let her guide him as he walked behind her, still curious, as she started guiding him to the front.

"It's your break time and just to tell you."

They both stopped in front of the cloth shift door that led to the dining area as Naruto stared back at her still curious. He realized it was his lunch break already but why was the owner acting like this. She seemed a bit happy though.

"Don't cause a riot…"

"Huh?" was all Naruto could get out before the owner pushed him through the cloth curtains, leaving him to fall forward into the floor.

He grumbled as he stood up, still not sure what the owner was talking about before he noticed how quiet it was. He looked up at the dining area and spotted the many faces of the sand academy students, each one of them staring wide eyed at Naruto as the silence seemed to last quite a bit.

"Hehe," Naruto let out an awkward laugh before he waved, "what's up?"

Naruto stood up and walked slowly through the room as he grew uncomfortable at the stares. He spotted Nejiri as well; he was sitting at a table at the end with the two friends of Mikoto and the said girl didn't seem to notice him.

He heard the snippets of voices around him…

"He's alive?"

"Did he really fight the demon?"

"How is he alive?"

Naruto ignored it the best he could as he walked over to the table. When Nejiri spotted him, he had to double take before standing up from his spot.

"Naruto!" he had yelled out as the two girls from the table stared in shock as well.

He then noticed Mikoshi. Her arms were slumped to the sides as she slowly turned around. He spotted her eyes; they were wet with tears as her mouth quivered.

"N-Naruto," she asked as if she couldn't believe. Naruto nodded as he smiled softly.

"It's me Miko," new tears arose from her eyes as she quickly stood up and threw herself at him. She buried her head to his chest, sobbing as Naruto patted her back and softly whispered comforting words to her.

"W-where, where you Naruto," she cried out into his arms as Naruto held her, "why didn't you tell me?"

He rocked a little, trying to comfort her, "don't tell me you missed me that much?" he joked but inwardly his heart melted at how much she had cared for him.

She shook her head, "shut up," she sniffed but Naruto knew she was smiling.

They staid like that for a while and he allowed her to cry as time continued to pass by.

Later, as things settled, Naruto sat in the table with Mikoshi to his side while Nejiri, Kashike, and Nari sat as close as they could.

Naruto smiled again, so many people cared for him that he wondered how he made this much friends.

But as things were, he needed to know more about Gaara. Matsuri was just one person, he needed more info.

"Tell me more about, Gaara," Naruto spoke in a serious voice as the atmosphere suddenly became cold, "like where does he go in the mornings, what does he do?"

Naruto saw the expressions displayed around the table. Each one of them seemed uncomfortable as they stared down at the table.

"I hate that demon," the voice came from beside him as the group turned to Mikoto. She stared at the table, her hands clenched as Naruto questioned her.

Mikoshi closed her eyes as her posture tensed, "I lost someone because of him, and I nearly lost you. He's just a murderous killer that we all have to live with," she looked up, tears already forming again, "I don't get it, why doesn't the Kazekage do something, why do we have to live in fear in our own home?"

"Miko," Naruto spoke as she snapped out of her frustration and turned silent once more.

Nejiri sighed before he stared at Naruto with a serious expression, "it's true Naruto, you won't find many people who like Gaara," he leaned back and stared down as well, "he's killed a lot of people in the village, a lot of loved ones. We all hate it, but as you saw yesterday, what can we do?"

"There has to be a reason," Naruto whispered aloud as the others turned to him, "what started all of this?"

"We don't know," Nari answered as the others nodded, "I remembered at the park when he wanted to play when I was really little. He nearly killed all the children in the park until his watcher stopped him; actually, his watcher took the attacks."

"Well if you think about it, Gaara was young as well right?" Naruto started pondering as the others continued to stare at him, "he must have not known how to control his powers, and it could have been an accident."

"Why are you defending him Naruto?" Mikoto spoke again as she stared at him a bit angrily, "you saw him; you've seen how he is first hand. What makes the difference now?"

Naruto shook his head, "I am just trying to figure things out Miko. I want to know more about Gaara."

"That's a dangerous road Naruto," Nejiri spoke again as he signaled at Mikoto to calm down, "the only way you'll understand Gaara is if you talk to the boy yourself, but in doing so, you risk certain death."

Naruto quirked his lips before staring up at the ceiling, "good point," he glanced down at them, "any of you know where Gaara goes at day?"

They all stared at him, their mouths slightly opened as Mikoshi spoke, "that's not funny Naruto."

A serious expression appeared on Naruto's face, "and I'm not joking. I am going to see him one way or another."

They heard the bold statement Naruto had made, each shocked the boy would actually try to do such a stupid thing.

Mikoshi slammed her hands on the table before glaring at Naruto. They stared at each other; angry tears stared at Naruto's calm blue eyes.

"You're serious aren't you," Mikoshi asked as she saw him nod. She looked away before moving from the table, "fine then, get yourself killed," she briefly looked back at him before turning away as her posture started shaking, "I will not lose another person I care for. I don't want to be your friend anymore Naruto," she ran out of the diner as Kashike and Nari called out to her. The two girls gave an apologetic look to Naruto before chasing after her as Naruto had to sigh and lean back on his chair, a bit hurt at the display but he understood why she acted that way.

His eyes glanced at Nejiri who seemed a bit shocked or pacified at the moment to say anything.

"I guess," Naruto started standing up, "I have to find Gaara myself," he said it in a low voice before heading to the back.

Nejiri looked guilty but he didn't know what to do. Naruto was going to get himself killed and all he could do was wait for the news to spread. He sighed, that boy was really complex to understand.

"Is he really going to look for Gaara?"

A feminine voice asked from behind Nejiri. He turned around and spotted a girl with sandy blonde hair tied up in four different directions, sitting on her chair, calmly taking a sip from her drink on the table.

He tried to recognize her as he spotted her large fan before realization struck, "Miss Temari."

She glanced back at him with her eyes briefly irritated. He gulped before remembering her question, "yes ma'am."

Temari stood up and left a few bills on the table. She heard what the boy Naruto spoke about Gaara, and she understood that Naruto was trying to find out why Gaara acted that way. This boy Naruto intrigued her more and more as she left the diner and wondered how the boy would find his answers.

When she left, Nejiri had to sigh in relief before leaning on his chair again. She was Temari, the Kazekage's daughter, and one to be taken seriously. If she heard, then Nejiri wondered what her interest was on Naruto and if she would tell anyone. 'I guess we'll find out eventually,' Nejiri grumbled in his mind before deciding to leave as well…

Tears continued to fall her face as she walked along with her friends Nari and Kashike. Her friends were silent for the girl, both of them waiting for a sort of signal that they could talk.

Mikoshi glanced off to the side before staring down her path again, her tears stopped.

"You should tell him, Mikoshi," came the voice from her friend Kashike.

She glanced at her before shaking her head, "there is nothing to tell."

Kashike and Nari traded looks as Mikoshi continued speaking.

"To me, a friend did die today," her eyes moistened once more before she became silent again and continued down the road to the academy…

Back in the diner, Naruto waited in the back behind the counter. It was still his break so he had some time to kill as he opted to wipe clean a few glass cups. He pondered how he would find Gaara as he cleaned and wondered what he would do once he did find the boy.

"Ahem."

Naruto turned around before smiling slightly. He placed the cup down as he spotted her sitting on the counter.

"Matsuri, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as her eyes lit up and she smiled instead.

He walked to the counter and spotted her looking around for a moment before replying.

"So, I see it didn't go well?" she asked which earned a downward sigh from Naruto who nodded and turned around to lean on the counter table.

"I want to meet Gaara," he glanced at her and saw her appear surprised before she stared down at the table, "and it seems they are calling me suicidal for wanting that."

"Well can you blame them," Matsuri answered before following Naruto and turning around as well to lean on the table right next to the boy. Her eyes stared down to the floor.

"We live in a village where death is just around the corner and to make things worse, our village isn't doing so well."

Naruto glanced at her as she sighed sadly, "we don't have enough teachers in the academy, a lot of them always gets called away for missions," she stared back at him as she tried to smile, "we are undermanned but our spirits are strong. All of us do our parts, even some of the older students who have graduated, they help out as well but still, some guys like Komaza come around and yet, we live on."

Naruto nodded, this Suna pride is something he had to respect. Even in these tough times, how could he expect anything from his friends?

"Will you," Naruto watched her as he asked; "will you tell me where I can find Gaara?"

Matsuri shifted her eyes to the door as a small sad smile appeared on her face, "I knew you would ask me that Naruto," she turned around and met his gaze before she frowned, "he can be found in the abandoned part of the city. It's filled with destroyed buildings that are still being filled with sand from the winds. The buildings are old and crumpling so it's not that hard to miss since even some buildings date back to the great shinobi war."

Naruto nodded before jumping over the counter. The action surprised Matsuri as Naruto took out a slip of paper and a writing instrument. He wrote a few words before placing it on the counter and then he faced Matsuri.

He had a grateful look on his face, something that Matsuri found herself liking a bit too much.

"Thank you for that info Matsuri," he nodded before turning around and heading towards the door.

Matsuri followed after him. She looked back at the counter before speaking to Naruto, "don't tell me you're skipping work just to see Gaara," she waved a hand at Naruto's face, "you know, Gaara the demon, demon of the sands."

Naruto shrugged, "I'll make it up to my boss."

Matsuri shook her head, "no, I mean, you're going to see if Gaara is there now? He kills people, you know that? Remember a day ago, did that memory just suddenly vanish?"

She stared at him in concern as Naruto chuckled and nodded his head, "I remembered but then, why did you tell me when you knew I would go see him?"

A red blush appeared on her cheeks as she shook her head, "I was just saying that because I knew you would check it after your work was over, which would have been late and would have taken you hours more to find the place."

Naruto stopped while Matsuri followed suit. The blonde turned to the girl and stared at her for a moment.

Matsuri looked away as she felt her face heat, "what," she asked as she felt his gaze upon her.

"I would still have found him the next day, what's the difference?" Naruto asked while still staring.

She scowled for a moment as she answered, "because Gaara goes there on certain days, mostly he walks around the village."

Naruto raised a curious brow as he tried to remember if he had seen him in the village before. He turned back to Matsuri as something stuck out to him, "you know where he is, don't you? You've been following him around haven't you?"

She looked down, ashamed at being caught as Naruto sighed before speaking, "Matsuri, quit stalling and help me find him already."

"B-but I," She shook her head, refusing to look at him as Naruto placed his hands on her shoulders. She appeared surprised at the contact.

"What is it?" he asked as she finally glanced at him before looking away.

She sucked in air before replying, "I'm worried about you ok," she spoke in a concerned voice surprising Naruto, "I've seen what Gaara could do and I'm worried you won't be able to escape like last time."

She felt embarrassed as she said it, not opting to look at the boy as it suddenly became quiet. She felt the hands on her shoulders slacken a bit before they left. She was about to say something else until she felt a hand pull her in.

She was too surprised to do anything as she suddenly found herself staring with her mouth slightly open. Naruto had pulled her in his chest and wrapped his hands around her. It was a brief hug which lasted a second as Naruto released but she still stood there in a daze.

"Thank you for caring, but please," Naruto placed his hands on her shoulders once more, "can you take me to him?"

Still a bit stunned at the action and not really trusting her voice at the moment, she nodded before turning around and leading the path. She was still worried for him but, she knew now that Naruto was determined to meet him, so as a friend, she would trust Naruto knew what he was doing and help him.

Naruto was grateful that she complied before his brows furrowed and he looked ahead of his path. His hands tensed for the encounter that would come as he briefly called upon his chakra and sensed his seals. He hoped he knew what he was doing.

Naruto and Matsuri continued to travel through the village, unaware of another figure that followed unseen in the background. Naruto recognized a few places from the village until they came to a road that headed slightly out of the village. Naruto observed that the rocky pebbled path was mostly hidden by the sands and further up, he saw destroyed walls of old buildings with more up ahead.

Matsuri signaled that it was just up ahead, the ruins of the old village.

"Thanks Matsuri," Naruto spoke as he stretched his arms and took out a few kunais before placing them behind him in a pouch, "I can find my way from here."

"I'm coming too you know," she argued back as Naruto shook his head.

"No you're not," he sighed not turning to face her, "If things turn out bad, it will be easier looking out for myself. I don't want anything to happen to you and I am scared I won't be able to protect you when worse comes to worse."

She faced her head down as she nodded. She leapt forward, taking him by surprise as she briefly hugged him. "Be safe Naruto, you do have friends in this village that care for you, remember that ok?"

Naruto smiled as he placed a hand on her arm and squeezed gently, "I'll remember it, thank you Matsuri."

She nodded before releasing and running back the way she came. Naruto watched her leave before walking away.

"So Gaara, what will happen?" he asked himself as the winds started to pick up and Naruto had to squint as the sand particles in the wind covered his path. He pulled up the cloth from his cloak as he walked on forward.

He travelled through the sandy winds as he spotted a few more destroyed buildings with holes or crumbled stones inside of them. He knew he was getting closer as the buildings soon became many.

The sand had taken its toll on the destroyed village, some buildings where already buried into the sand that Naruto had to be careful where he stepped lest he step on a sand sink hole.

The farther up he went, he realized the buildings must have been tall since it still formed ruins in the area. He briefly stopped next to one as he placed his hand on the wall. It was old, it felt as if the wall would fall from one punch, or maybe a thrown rock in which he decided that he shouldn't try his luck and enter the buildings.

Stepping out into the brief clearing surrounded by destroyed worn out buildings; there was one that stood in the center with a giant pillar sticking out from the sands. Naruto looked up at the top of the pillar to find who he was looking for.

Naruto backed into a building and slipped out a piece of paper from the seal in his wrist, placing it on a building next to him before pulling several kunais. He attached several seals into them, throwing a few into some of the buildings before holding on to several more. He placed them behind him in a pouch before walking forward into the clearing.

He stood now, staring up at the tallest pillar and watching as Gaara silently sat high above.

Now he found himself fumbling with what to say. Naruto just continued to stand there, wondering what he would do now.

"So you've returned?"

Gaara had beaten Naruto to the point. The red haired boy already stared down at him before a platform of sand materialized in the air.

There were sand particles floating around the place, something that made Naruto nervous as he watched Gaara ascend to the ground on his heavenly platform. Naruto continued to stay in place, trying not to seem intimidated even though he really was.

As soon as Gaara reached the floor, the sand platform dispersed back into the ground before he took a step towards Naruto.

"Will you run away again? Have you come to prove my existence?"

Naruto now stared into the killer of the Sand village, with a question that bothered him.

"And how is it that I am supposed to prove your existence?" Naruto asked, already he was trying to figure out Gaara's reasons for his actions.  
"Fight me."

It was the only warning Naruto received until he felt something smack into his back. Quickly, he disappeared with the technique, cancelling out Gaara's surprise attack as Naruto reappeared in a corner of a building where he had placed a rite into the wall earlier.

He took out several kunais, all which held the rites.

"Gaara, this needs to stop!" Naruto yelled out as he threw several rites into more areas. The blonde was hiding with the buildings, moving as quietly and quickly as he could before a burst of sand came crashing down a side of a building. Naruto disappeared again.

Gaara held a hand up, his attack already sent to the voice he heard come from the other boy.

"Why are we fighting, what is the point of all this?"

Gaara turned his head to the side he heard the voice again. It was another side of a building in the ruins. He shot his hand out, quickly forming several spikes of sand and plowing down the area.

"Answer me Gaara, or this whole meeting would be pointless."

"You are starting to annoy me," Gaara responded as he calmly stood his spot. He closed his eyes and formed a single hand symbol before speaking, "We cannot live without a purpose. My purpose was born out of betrayal, and I was born out of love."

"Love?" Naruto's voice now echoed around the area, "How can a betrayal be a love?"

Gaara twitched when he heard the voices. They came from all over that he wondered just how many of the blonde existed.

"You confuse my love," Gaara spoke as he lifted his arm and several spheres of sand floated around him, "the love I have been given spoiled me. My mother's love protects me, watches over me, and it is my mother's love that calls for your blood."

The spheres grew bigger until it flew across Gaara in all directions, slamming into the buildings, forming dust and clouds and shattering the already fragile landscape.

But still, Gaara heard that persistent voice appear once again.

"I understand now," Naruto appeared from the damaged clouds. He was a few distance away from Gaara as he stared at the boy, "you are referring to Shukaku, the insane demon of the Sand."

Gaara grinned, "call her what you want but it is love from this village that did spoil me. The people who tried to kill me, they provided me the blood my mother yearned for. It nourished her, made her happy, and thus, my existence was born, and thus, I am happy."

Naruto shook his head, "that's not love Gaara, and I know, that's not a mother's love." He looked down at the sand for a moment. Naruto didn't remember much about his mother, she had died when he was a tender age and all he did know was stories he rarely heard his father speak of.

"Our thoughts are different," Gaara responded whilst staring at the boy. He hesitated, "you have my eyes."

They stared for a moment before a sand plowed deep into Naruto's back from behind before sticking out through the stomach. Gaara was a bit surprise to see it puff into smoke clouds before he realized it was a trick.

"How long has your heart been hurting Gaara?"

Gaara paused as he heard the phrase.

"You found something or someone to soothe your heart. Shukaku, the demon inside of you, did that being become your mother? Did that demon replace the emptiness you felt being alone?"

Gaara faltered in his steps before shaking his head, "No, the demon was what I needed, Shukaku was the one who had taken care of me," he grinned as if loving the idea, "I am born as the son of Shukaku, for the demon is my mother, and I will please her."

He rose up from the sands, forming another platform that lifted him up into the air.

"You're just an annoying insect to me," Gaara lifted his hands in the air as Naruto observed from his hiding spot, "if you continue to hide, then I will just have to destroy everything I see."

Naruto was confused what Gaara meant by that until he spotted the tsunami behind the red haired boy. Not to be mistaken with a water tsunami, this tsunami was what Naruto would call a giant sand tsunami. Something that has never been seen before as it literally blocked out the sun and headed straight into the old village.

'The demon's power is leaking through, this is amazing,' Naruto stared in awe at the attack.

"And now, you die," Gaara grinned as he shot his arms down and the sand came falling down to the ruined city.

Naruto heard a gasp from behind as he turned around and spotted someone he would curse seeing here.

She was a blonde hair girl with her hair tied pointing four different directions. Her face was pale and her eyes were in shock and looking back at the giant attack, Naruto could see why.

Quickly, he leapt towards the girl, grabbing onto her waste before throwing the rite-kunai as high as he possibly could.

He disappeared with the girl, up in the air before reappearing mid way the giant sand tsunami. Quickly, before the attack hit, he caught his kunai in the air and threw it once again, higher up before the attack swept through.

Gaara had the satisfaction of seeing his attack cover the whole ruins. He grinned as he felt for the boy's energy; already his mind had foreseen the blonde's demise.

"I'm not done yet Gaara!"

Gaara widened his eyes as he searched for the voice.

"What?" his head turned side to side as he continued to wonder how the boy had survived his attack. A shadow appeared above him, blocking out the warmth of the sun's rays as Gaara turned his head up.

He spotted him; the blonde was diving down towards him, a glowing blue spherical ball in his hand lifted forward while Gaara saw he was holding someone in his other.

"Put all your hatred into me Gaara, I can take it," Naruto slammed the ball of light towards Gaara in the air as a wall of sand appeared between them, "Rasengan!"

Naruto's attack slammed into the sand wall as he pushed the ball deeper, the attack drilled into it, exerting and shooting pressure against it that Gaara suddenly saw the crack in his ultimate defense.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he pushed harder and harder, before he felt the pressure from the attack, "Now!" the attack pulled through as the blast shot forward. Gaara was trapped by the vortex of blue chakra that sent him spinning down towards the ground.

Naruto quickly took out another kunai with a rite attached to it as he held on to the familiar girl to his sides. He saw Gaara's body slam into the sandy floor with dusts of clouds shooting around the air before he threw the kunai towards the ground and then activated the technique.

He reappeared on the floor; unharmed as he placed the girl down and quickly stood up to face a shocked Gaara.

"This," his eyes were frightened as he stared at his hand. It was coated with blood as he brought it to his head. There was pain coming from his body, pain, a foreign notion to the demon of the bloody sands. So new was this pain, he wasn't sure how to react but grow scared at the feeling.

"Now Gaara," Naruto had spoken again, his voice tensed along with his body as he held one of his special kunais out and briefly eyed the unconscious girl behind him, "please, I don't want to fight you."

"I-Is this, my blood?"

Naruto started to feel bad now, especially the look on Gaara's face, but he knew he shouldn't let his guard down, "Gaara," he called out again, "listen to me, we don't have to fight, I just want to help you."

"Mother"

"Gaara no," Naruto suddenly felt himself growing paler in the white hot sun when he heard Gaara say it, "don't call the demon, for Kami's sake don't call on the demon."

"Mother, help me."

The rumble singled an angry spirit as Naruto cursed under his breath. Sand covered Gaara once again, but this time, it formed into some sort of monster. Blue veins appeared all around the sand with strange dark symbols. Gaara's head turned into some sort of sand beast with yellow diamond eyes. Clawed arms emerged along with a vicious tail as a deadly scream filled the air.

"Crap," was all he could say at the moment before he heard a mumble. He looked down and spotted the girl again. He wasn't sure who this was, but she did look familiar. All that moving around didn't really help her regain her conscious but with things turning the way it was, Naruto realized she might be killed before ever-waking up.

"**Hahaha, I have my mother's blessing," the creature bellowed in a high scratchy voice, "she wants your blood so badly, I can almost feel it."**

"That's…" Naruto placed his kunai back into his pouch, "really creepy," he frowned as he felt the power that radiated from the demon infused Gaara.

"**Now, DIE!" the creature struck down with one hand as a wave of sand suddenly formed and jetted through the air towards Naruto in speeds that surprised him.**

'It's been a while since I last called to him,' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes. He clenched his fists as he suddenly roared out, "Kyuubi!"

The same feeling as before befell upon him. Naruto opened his eyes, unable to move his feet or hands as a red dull mist blew around him. The sand attack was mere inches from Naruto's face as the blonde ninja stared at a red light that glowed over him.

"_It's been a while, little one."_

The red ball of light floated around him before flying off to the distance. It skittered, hopping from place to place as if amused before twirling around the enraged demon infused Gaara.

"_My, my, what an interesting predicament, is that a Tanuki sand Kami?"_

Naruto heard it bark out in laughter before returning to float in front of Naruto.

"_How I am lucky not to have been caught in one of those seals."_

"Kyuubi, I need help," Naruto got straight to the point before he watched the glowing orb twirl around again, "and why are you a ball of light?"

It stopped for a moment, _"I've been gone too long that it seems some things have invaded my territory. So I am needed elsewhere…"_

Naruto thought he heard a growl come from the orb before a warm feeling started to fill Naruto.

"_Insanity is one of this sand Kami's powers; but remember, insanity and chaos almost are alike, and for me being a wind kitsune, chaos falls under my territory. Get close enough and use my gift wisely young acolyte, I might find interest in you yet."_

Naruto tried to shake his head at whatever Kyuubi was saying to him, "Kamis, chaos, territory…acolyte, what are you talking about?"

He heard a chuckle as the light dimmed somewhat, _"one of these days my acolyte, we will speak more on this subject but, the human mind can be enhanced only for a certain amount of time, so, battle hard human and until we meet again,"_ it disappeared.

Naruto placed those thoughts out of his mind for the moment as he concentrated on the gift Kyuubi had bestowed upon him….

Gaara watched with giddy delight as the sand attack connected. It was overcoming the blonde boy, enwrapping him in a sphere so he could finish him off. It was perfect and going smoothly until his sand stopped moving and he felt something wrong.

Suddenly, through the sphere, Gaara was surprised once again as two giant red claws struck out of the sand prism. He didn't see the attack until he felt the arms latch into his sides.

"**Gah!" Gaara yelled out as steam, hot steam rose from the red clawed hands. He stared at his sides as he tried to bat away the attack but it gripped on tightly. Each time he grabbed at the red energy like hands, it burnt his skin, "What is this!"**

The sand sphere in front of Gaara collapsed as the demon of the sand got a glimpse of something he had never seen before. In front of him with the red chakra like energy arms attached to its arms, it was the blonde boy again, this time, there was a red glow surrounding his body. The energy felt familiar to Gaara, the same emotions, the blood lust, the…_**insanity**_.

The blonde looked up, his eyes slit red as his lips moved to speak.

"**I wasn't supposed to use this power Gaara."**

His voice was different; it was changed, more deep and demonic. It kept Gaara listening as he forgotten that he was being held down in place.

"**I just wanted to speak to you, to offer you a hand of friendship."**

Gaara started to grow scared before the scared sensation grew to anger. The blonde moved closer as Gaara shook more with rage. He struggled harder as the sand rose around him and shot towards Naruto.

A red beam of light formed around the blonde, striking the sand and turning it to glass before Gaara finally stood face to face with another demon. The glass shattered.

What surprised Gaara was the action he witnessed next. He was released from the stinging claws of red energy and instead, his enemy had placed his hands on Gaara's shoulder.

"**Allow me to prove that I can be your friend," Naruto spoke as he transferred the demonic chakra into Gaara.**

The chakra engulfed Gaara, travelling around his body as the blue veined sand suddenly turned red. Cracks appeared until the sand fell from Gaara's body, and he was as normal as he was from before.

"If you can't allow me this, then I will fight you fully at the end," Naruto finished before releasing his hands from Gaara's shoulders. The demonic chakra from both of them had disappeared, allowing a moment of silence between them.

Gaara didn't move for a moment, a bit shocked at what had occurred as Naruto waited as well.

Finally, Gaara started to move back, sand collecting behind him and formed a gourd as his face continued to seem lost and confused. He reached a hand to his forehead, a thumping headache called to him as he glared back at Naruto.

"I will let you live for now," he folded his arms and stood straight, "if you betray me, I will kill you," he threatened one last time before walking away.

"My name is Naruto, Gaara," Naruto spoke but Gaara didn't seem to care before disappearing in a cloud of sand.

Naruto knew Gaara had heard, and he guessed this was the closest he had gotten Gaara to agree to proving that he really was a friend.

'He is confused and conflicted right now,' Naruto sighed as he felt a raging storm had been passed, 'I have my work cut out for me.'

His legs wobbled as he fell back into the sand with his cloak covering his face, "Well, at least I'm alive," he laughed before closing his eyes to the mid hot sun; tired from the battle, and tired from the energy spent. He could rest for a moment before getting up and in his mind, he dreamt of a woman long dead to him and a family he wished he had, maybe a sense of longing that left a discomforted smile on his face before he finally fell asleep due to exhaustion …

**...Scene change…**

Minato observed the training area he would use before checking his equipment. He wondered what he would show Kurenai in preparation for the Jounin selective entry critiques. It was hard to ponder the matter, even when a servant had come up to him.

"Master Namikaze," she bowed briefly as Minato nodded to her, "Lord Jiraiya is at the door and would like to see you."

"Let him in," Minato answered before moving to one of the training dummies, "he'll know where to find me."

She bowed once again before moving to fulfill the request.

Minato stared at the dummy for a moment, his hand scratching at his chin until he felt the tingle in the air and a figure appeared behind him.

"Hey Minato," the familiar voice of Jiraiya greeted enthusiastically, "how about you join me for some sake tonight, I know a pretty young girl who would be interested in meeting you."

Minato smiled before shaking his head, "sorry, I promised a friend I would help them with something," he waved it off, "maybe some other time sensei."

A curious brow rose from Jiraiya's face as he watched Minato sigh and release a seal on a target dummy, it disappeared.

"Who's this friend of yours?"

Minato started doing the same thing with each target he found, using seals to make them disappear, "just someone I met a few days ago…could you help me get rid of these?"

Jiraiya nodded but was still curious as he went to the other dummies and copied what Minato did.

"C'mon now brat, you're being very quiet about this, who's the person?"

Minato rolled his eyes before replying, "Because I know once I tell you, you won't leave me alone."

Jiraiya tilted his head before a grin appeared on his face, "it's a woman isn't it?" Jiraiya moved closer before elbowing his old student, "I didn't know you still had it in you Minato."

"I don't," a sad looked crossed his face, "I am just helping her, besides, after Kushina, there is no one else."

Jiraiya grew quiet before sighing and moving on. They finished clearing the garden from targets and dummies before the servant from before appeared and announced a certain arrival of a person Minato was waiting for.

"Sensei, I appreciate the help but if you don't mind?"

Jiraiya chuckled, "no problem brat," he placed an arm on Minato's shoulder as his smile faded, replaced with a frown, "Kushina was a fine woman Minato, don't get me wrong, but I don't think she would want you to be lonely, especially all that's happened."

"Nothing Jiraiya, it's nothing and will be nothing," Minato argued back before shaking his head, "I can't do that to her memory, after all this, her memory is all I have. Dating again for me would be a disgrace to Kushina, and that is something I will not have."

Jiraiya sighed again before patting him gently. He didn't need to say anything as he walked away and left his student to his own silence that prolonged afterwards…

Kurenai waited by the door to the Namikaze manor. Her face poised as she wondered why she was here again. It was funny earlier when she bumped into her friend Anko. The purple haired jounin actually interrogated her about her whereabouts until she explained she would be out training. With who, she wouldn't say, especially after the incident Anko had with Minato a few days ago. Maybe Anko had a crush on the Hokage, along with many others, but it seemed Minato was clueless about it.

The thought made her blush as she realized she used his first name as if they were long time friends.

The door opened as Kurenai watched a white haired man walk out. She knew who it was as she briefly bowed in greeting.

"Lord Jiraiya," she looked up to find his surprised expression upon seeing her before he smiled.

"Oh hey, so you're the one training with my old student," he had let out a chuckle as Kurenai stared in confusion. He moved closer before whispering in a low voice, "He is a bit depressed right now," Kurenai frowned at that as Jiraiya nudged her towards the door, "please, help him. Lord Kami knows he needs someone right now."

Kurenai blushed, "we are only training Lord Jiraiya, besides, there is nothing I can offer him, and I am below using the hokage."

Jiriaya shook his head, "no, I didn't mean like that," he sighed before gazing at her, "he really needs a friend right now, more specifically, a friend that is a woman, and I say this because he can't really express himself to other men. Just listen to him, help him settle out his emotions ok?"

Kurenai nodded, "I will do what I can."

"Thank you," Jiraiya bowed briefly before walking out, "hurry, he is waiting."

She nodded once again before heading inside the manor.

Once she went inside, she was led by one of the servants through a hall way. She had observed the garden that appeared to be in the center of the manor, it was something she found herself liking before the servant directed her to move through one of the doors through the sides.

The door led her outside, to a large training area. She looked around for a moment before her eyes landed on the hokage who was standing under a shade of a giant tree. A sad look crossed her face as she watched him softly touch the bark with a mournful expression.

Kurenai found herself not wanting to be here more and more until the Hokage turned around and spotted her. She briefly looked down before sucking up and facing him again with a smile plastered on her face.

"Lord Hokage, forgive me but your manor is like a puzzle," she moved forward along with Minato who started to smile, "it's hard to find the right places, it's a wonder you know where everything is located."

She stopped midway as they stood facing each other. He smiled before scratching his head.

"Yeah well," he widened his arms to make her look around him, "when you deal with seals, you learn that puzzles are easier. Welcome to my home Kurenai, shall we get started?"

She smiled before nodding. Minato then led her to a certain part of the field, a place surrounded by trees.

"I will be your target Kurenai, so, come at me with the intent to either kill, maim, or incapacitate me," he had his arms open wide as to welcome any attack.

Kurenai raised a brow humorously, "how about subdue, am I allowed that action?"

The hokage nodded, "sure, whatever you want," he grinned as Kurenai started backing away.

"Ninja art of illusions, Cherry Blossoms," Kurenai spoke before disappearing in a wind of pink blossom petals.

Minato raised a brow curiously before frowning, "an illusionist ninja…I hate illusions," he mumbled.

He smelled something sweet in the air, the scent of the cherry blossoms as the area changed all around him. The trees turned into the said pink trees as he felt a wind blow through him. It ruffled his hair, allowing him a moment of calm as a comforting smile rose from his lips.

"Careful Hokage, don't enjoy it too much…"

He heard the voice before chuckling. Slowly, his foot shifted on the floor, feeling the solid ground as his body begun to tingle. He closed his eyes, his body still…even as a large tree sprouted behind him.

The trunk of the tree swirled around Minato like vines growing from the jungle. It wrapped all around his body before the trunk opened and Kurenai appeared with a kunai in hand.

"Anything yet?" she asked as she placed the kunai along his neck.

Minato opened his eyes before smirking, "oh I got something."

She tilted her head at the statement before Minato's body soon collapsed into pieces of mud rocks.

Kurenai was taken in surprise at the hokage's escape. She quickly hid behind her tree once more before the ground shook and a large wall of rock suddenly shot up from under her feet. She jumped to the side, letting it rise. Her hand quickly moved, performing the same seal as before, "ninja illusion, petal blossoms," she spoke before shooting her arms around her, quickly dispersing petals of distractions into the air.

Something moved in the petals as Kurenai turned to look. She ran forward, trying to get some cover after her distraction before she saw the figure again. Her eyes narrowed as her hand quickly reached for her kunai. The figure disappeared, Kurenai tensed as she held on to her kunai with her eyes scanning around her. A noise came from the right; she threw her dagger as a chuckle came from her left.

She twitched before concentrating on her chakra once more.

"Ninja illusion; Petal dispersion"

Sweet scenting petals formed around her, it gave a tingling sensation in the air as Kurenai quickly hid away under an invisibility illusion.

She watched as Minato popped out from one of the trees, his face seemed dazed, probably from her last attack as she moved her hands once again. Giant vines rose from the ground, along with trees that continued to close around Minato. She concentrated all her chakra into the attack before disappearing and reappearing behind the hokage. She placed the kunai towards his back, letting it briefly poke him for warning.

"You don't like illusions don't you?" she asked before hearing a chuckle escape Minato's lips.

"Do you think so low of your Hokage?"

Kurenai stumbled for a moment until she felt a kunai behind her neck. Her eyes looked surprised as the Minato in front of him disappeared into a puff of smoke. 'A shadow clone?' she asked herself before she heard his voice.

"Illusions used to be my weakness, but, I've learn a few things with the war with Rock village."

She sighed before dispersing the illusion as Minato placed his tri pronged kunai away.

"Tell me, how are you immune to my illusions?"

Minato shook his head before replying, "I'm not immune to them, I did feel them," he kicked at the floor as Kurenai looked on curiously, "from the war with Rock, I've actually picked up a technique that helps me against illusions."

Kurenai watched as he scratched at the ground before pointing at the tree beside him, "I know the illusions can change my sensations, let me feel things that aren't there, see, hear, or smell something you would want me too, but, I know that the ground will always be ground. Same rocky substance no matter what I feel. I can use that to escape, something I taught my students."

She looked at the tree beside him before spotting what appeared to be a paper seal placed on the tree bark.

"And I found out that my special flash technique acts like an illusion cancellation technique. It stores energy before dispersing it outside of me," he smirked, "pretty neat trick huh?"

She sighed before facing the floor, "so it looks like I'm not ready to becoming a Jounin, am I?"

A frown grew on her face as Minato shook his head.

"Well then tell me," her head glanced at Minato who was staring at her with a brow raised, "did you expect to beat me? The hokage of the village?"

She blushed before shaking her head, "but I could at least have done better."

"Kurenai, you're good, I have no doubts about that, even your illusion techniques were pretty strong," she smiled half heartedly as he continued, "but I'll give you fair warning," she stared at him, "the Jounin testing is mostly based on your ability to defeat your foes who may be stronger than you with a certain kind of attitude."

Her head tilted in confusion before she spoke, "How does that work?"

"Well, I shouldn't even be telling you this but," Minato scratched at his head as if it was a bad idea, "I'll tell you one quality that will give you points to passing. You have to have the will of fire."

"The will of fire," Kurenai repeated before staring away, "I don't know if I have that."

Minato walked closer as he watched her lean against a tree, "what do you mean?" he asked.

"To never give up, right?" she shook her as a sad laugh escaped her lips, "I gave up once, even now, it still pains me when I think about it."

Minato walked next to her before leaning against the tree, "I've been told that telling another person helps sometimes."

She looked up at him as he offered a comforting smile. She smiled softly before facing down again.

"My ranking is special Chuunin, which you know means that I can have some responsibilities as a Jounin but not much," Minato nodded, he knew that a special Chuunin is a step up from just a regular Chuunin. She continued, "I was hailed as an illusion genius. I would create illusions that most Jounins I have sparred with before couldn't even snap out of them," she bit her lip for a moment. Minato saw before he placed a hand on her shoulder. She smiled before continuing.

"As a special Chuunin, I was assigned a student…have you ever heard of the Kurama clan?"

Minato thought for a moment before he recognized the name, "so they gave the heir to you?"

She nodded, "Her name was Yakumo. She was so special with her illusions; they were more powerful than mine."

"I know of her Kurenai, and it's nothing to be ashamed of."

She looked up at Minato. He appeared to be in thought before he turned to stare at her with his face neutral.

"We knew what happened to her, how she had unknowingly killed her parents. Her powers are uncontrollable; you had to seal them away."

"But she was my apprentice," Kurenai argued back before looking away in shame, "I should have done more to help her. Lord Kami she doesn't even know how her parents died…and I know no one wants to tell her, it would tear at her heart."

She grew quiet again with her long dark hair hiding her eyes. Minato moved in front of her, bending down a little until he got her attention.

She stared at his eyes; they were bright blue as he stared into her dull red ones.

"The fact that you still care about her is enough to tell me that you haven't given up on her," he smiled before adding, "so hasn't this village."

He moved back before holding out his hand, "she has her own medical ninja, we get reports on her condition," Kurenai reached up and placed her hand in his. He pulled her forward, directing her up from the tree bark, "until we can find a solution to this problem, there is nothing we can do about it, and I'll tell you this, even I don't know what I can do for her."

He frowned, "I am the hokage, there's so many things I need to do and I know that sometimes, I forget about the others and I grow ashamed when I think about it." He turned his back from her while glancing down to the floor.

"But the village still loves you," Kurenai responded, surprising Minato as he glanced back at her.

She nodded while placing a hand on his shoulder, "you're strong I understand that but remember, you're still only human. We can only handle so much that it's foolish to think that one person can solve everyone's problems."

A smile grew in Minato's lips, a smile that brought hope to Kurenai as she watched his mood lighten somewhat. He continued to watch her for a moment before he spoke, "it's getting late, how about you join me for dinner, and I can have my workers cook us up something."

"Yes," Kurenai answered to his surprise as she nodded her head, "I would like that but first, I would need to change."

"Of course," Minato scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look, "so, I'll see you tonight then."

"It's a date then Lord Hokage," she formed a seal before winking at him, "I'll see you soon." She disappeared in a puff of smoke as Minato suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"No, it's not a date," he shook his head as he tried to tell himself that It was just a meeting between friends as he left to prepare for tonight but still there was an excited expression in his face as he quickly went to get ready…

That night would be a first of many nights he had spent the time with a friend.

…**Scene Change Sand Village…**

Naruto awoke to the near dark skies with his head blinking away the tiredness from his body. He stretched his arms before taking a glance around the area until he noticed he was inside one of the broken buildings.

"You're awake I see."

Naruto turned to the voice to find the blonde haired girl he had saved before. She walked up to him before sitting down against the wall in front of him. She reached into her pouch bringing out a leathery flask.

"Here, drink some," she offered it to Naruto who gladly took it.

He opened the flask and drank the cool liquid water inside but as he drank, he noticed the girl was watching him and he wondered where he had seen her before.

With a relieved sigh he capped the flask and offered it back to her.

"Thank you."

She nodded before taking a sip from the flask herself and putting it away.

Naruto stretched his limbs once more before speaking, "so it was you who moved me?"

She smirked, "well, what kind of idiot would sleep on top of a sand dune with the hot sun still up, you would have been buried by nightfall or worse."

Naruto twitched an eyebrow before replying, "Why did you follow me?"

She was taken aback with surprise before looking away, a bit embarrassed.

"Why are you so interested in Gaara?"

"Because," Naruto started as he glanced out the old broken window, watching as the night air filled the skies, "this is the first time I have ever seen a demon container. He isn't treated well and I believe there is some good in him, something just tells me he needs a good friend to show him the right way."

The girl was surprised at his answer before turning away with a gloomy expression. Naruto turned to her and spotted her look.

"By the way, who are you?"

She straightened up before answering, "I am Temari, daughter of the Kazekage, wind user in training," she briefly pointed at Naruto, "and you, you are Naruto. A stranger of this village that is hiding more talent than others thought."

Inwardly the blonde boy gulped as Temari stood up and continued to stare at him.

"You know ninja techniques, some advanced ones that it is hard for me to believe you've learned them on your own," She soon pointed at him, her eyes enquiring, "Who are you Naruto, where did you get your training, and why are you in this village?"

He was caught in surprise that he that he didn't know what to say at the moment. He continued to stare at her, wondering what his response would be.

'The daughter of the Kazekage, this could be messy,' inwardly he panicked as he sat back against the wall.

"Tell me Naruto, where are you from?"

"I came from vegetable country," Naruto started using the alibi he had been given as an idea formed in his mind, "I learned a few techniques and happened across this village while guarding the caravan."

She raised a brow; something seemed off to her as she observed the boy speak.

"That's a lie," Naruto stiffened as Temari glared at him, "the techniques you used, they are not native to vegetable country and I know since they don't have their own shinobi village, they wouldn't have children your age learning ninja techniques, only special guards do."

"Well you certainly know a few things about vegetable country," Naruto sweat dropped as he rubbed at his head.

She folded her arms and glared as Naruto knew she would tell her father which would put him in a situation.

"Let me ask you something," Naruto relaxed as he spoke, "do you have a dream?"

She perked up at the question, "what do you mean, and what does that have to do with you?"

He sighed for a second whilst scratching his head, "Is there something you are trying to do in life or accomplish?"

It was silent as Naruto waited for her to speak, and to him, he noticed she was a bit uncomfortable.

"There is one, but, it's impossible."

"How so?" Naruto watched as she turned away and shook her head.

"That's none of your business," she glared at him which earned a scared response from the boy, "what does this have to do with why you're in this village in the first place?"

Naruto knew she was losing her patience, he responded "it has to do with everything I do now."

She settled down as she watched Naruto sigh and look up once again. His face was excited, maybe a bit whimsical as she wondered what was going through that boy's head.

"All my life, I've always been sheltered. I was told what to do, what not to do, and I've always been watched," he smiled with an excited grin as he slowly stood up from his spot and stretched his arms, "I'm living my dream Temari, I'm doing what I want to."

She twitched at the comment, "what do you mean."

He chuckled as he turned to face her; she saw his eyes actually glowing with excitement.

"I happened to this village by chance, from my latest adventure in vegetable country. I did it myself, with no one to help me or guide me, you see, even if you expose me, I can escape this village, leave because I am finally free to wander, to go where I want to," he placed his arms behind his head as he laughed up at the roof for a moment.

Temari shook her head as a scowl appeared on her lips; 'stupid, so is this a game to you, Naruto?' she glared up at him as her thoughts plagued her mind, 'is Gaara merely an adventure for you…'

She flinched when she saw Naruto, his eyes saddened with a frown now adorning his face.

"And yet, I am starting to regret it," he closed his eyes as his head slowly sagged along with his body against the wall, "already I saw murder, the real world of bandits of demons and of death…" he moved his hand in front of his face, he wiped at it, as if trying to clean a sort of stain from it, "and yet, I can't help but try my best and save them."

Temari stared at Naruto in surprise, a sort of new light as he watched his stance straighten and he turned to face her.

"Temari, I want to help Gaara, I just can't forgive myself if I can't even help someone in need," he dropped to his knees and slowly bowed to the sand mistress, his forehead touching the ground, "please, don't tell anyone, just allow me to help Gaara."

Her hand covered her lips as she stared down at the blonde boy's head. She didn't know what to say, or how to respond.

"Even if you hate him too," Naruto slightly lifted his head off the ground, "all I see is a person seeking attention. I know my life is nothing compared to Gaara's own, when I was little I could trust no one, I had no true friends because they all either wanted something from me, or because the influence from my father. I was lonely my father didn't even try to be my father, he left me alone and with friends, I was betrayed several times by my so called greedy friends, but Gaara, he was betrayed, I can see it in his eyes, the ultimate kind of betrayal, something that forced him to become what he is today, I just know I can help him."

She turned away from Naruto as the boy ninja spotted something tiny drip into the ground. He saw it moisten the dusty floor of this old building as he slightly gazed up from his spot.

'Is she crying?' he wondered.

"What if you can't change him, little hero," she continued to hide away her face in the shadows as Naruto nodded and sat up as she continued, "what if you can't change him like you say. You know he isn't normal."

Naruto grinned as he pointed at himself, "he's not the only person whose abnormal, I am too," he turned serious as he spotted her surprised look, "I will help him, it's a promise."

She stared at him, their eyes never moving as a small glimmer of hope rose inside of her, 'who is this kid?' she questioned in her mind before she wiped at her eyes and a smirk appeared.

She started walking towards the door as Naruto took it in surprise and quickly stood up.

"Alright then Naruto, I won't tell anyone."

Naruto smiled as he nodded in relief, she turned around with a single finger pointing up, "but, I will be watching you, ok?"

The blonde smiled, "hai," he scratched the back of his head as a smile rose on his face, "I guess I don't mind having a pretty girl watch over me," he winked as he twiddled his finger at her, "you can be my sand angel," he joked with a laugh before walking pass Temari who stood frozen in her spot.

"Huh," Naruto stared back at her before taking it the wrong way, "sorry, sorry," he waved his hand in a pacifying manner, "it was just a joke," he laughed awkwardly.

Temari closed her eyes before smiling, "I know, hurry, it's already nightfall and my father would be expecting me to arrive soon."

She walked passed Naruto who stared at her in confusion; she smirked before exiting the old abandoned building with Naruto following after.

They walked together, guided by the little lights that shown the way towards the village. They spoke a bit more, mostly with Naruto retelling of his stay in vegetable country from the work as a field worker, to the field of flowers, until the unfortunate end of the peaceful village. Temari took in the info with surprise before she asked Naruto a question that made him pause.

"So Naruto, where are you really from?"

Naruto awkwardly pulled at his collar as he tried to come up with something.

Temari raised a brow, already she saw what he was trying to do.

"Um, well," Naruto continued to fumble with his words as Temari rolled her eyes and glanced at the path ahead of her.

"Hmm," she squinted her eyes and stared ahead at the light post, "there's someone there."

Naruto stared as well before spotting the body leaning against the lamp post with the light cast down.

"You're right," he answered before running ahead along with Temari.

His eyes widened in surprise before he knelt down next to her, "Matsuri," he felt her head before sighing in relief, "she's just sleeping," he stood up and shook his head, "silly girl, what is she doing out here."

He heard a laugh come beside him as he turned to face Temari. She stared at him as if it was obvious enough, "really Naruto, you know she was worried for you."

Naruto turned back to Matsuri before he smiled and slowly approached her.

"You've made friends in this village Naruto."

Naruto lifted the girl Matsuri bridal style before watching as Temari started walking away. She turned back to him and waved, "I'll see you around Naruto, and I'll leave her health to your care, alright?"

Naruto nodded before heading a different direction.

Temari watched him through the corner of her eyes before turning back to her path, 'I'll leave Gaara to you as well Naruto, his only family abandoned him, and maybe you can be the one true friend he needs.'

Naruto was unaware of Temari's thoughts as he gently whispered to the sleeping Matsuri.

"Come on Matsuri, wake up please," he gently nudged her as a low mumble escaped her throat.

Naruto sighed again, "I don't even know where she lives," he sweat dropped before deciding to take her to his home.

"Naruto-senpai" Naruto perked up as he heard her whisper, "please, be safe."

A warm smile rose from his face as he shook his head, "silly girl, you don't have to worry over me."

"Eeh," his eyes widened with a blush appearing on his face as Matsuri rubbed her cheek against Naruto's chest. He stared up in the skies with an awkward look as he tried to ignore it, 'this is embarrassing,' he sighed out as he continued his trek towards his home, hoping tomorrow would be different.

* * *

**Notes: I thought I would be done with Sand village but I guess it was longer than I anticipated. I'll try to finish up his journey in sand the next chapter. Hoped you enjoyed.**


	5. A Sand covered Leaf: Discovery

Ch 5

**Notes: Let's pretend I know what I am talking about… **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Anime period**

* * *

She felt the comfortable soft materials when she slowly stirred from her sleep. Her eyes opened to the bright light coming from the sides as her mind was in the beginning stages of processing where she was.

'This isn't my home,' her eyes were now wide open while staring up at the ceiling until she spotted the familiar symbol located on the ceiling.

"Naruto," she spoke out before sitting up and scanning the area. She recognized the room, the items scattered around that did belong to Naruto as she wondered where the said boy could be. Slowly, she moved from the bed, her feet touched the cold wooden floor before she crept through the room.

Her eyes spotted the blonde a short way from the bed, his body was slanted while sleeping up against the couch in the room.

It was how normal he looked even after she knew he had faced Gaara, which was what brought a grateful smile to grace her features as she watched him sleep, "he's ok, I'm glad," she said to herself, relieved.

"Hmp, you should be," one of Naruto's eyes popped opened and eyed the girl as Matsuri took a step back with an awkward laugh.

The boy arose from his couch, stretching his arms before scratching his head, "I can't believe you did that, ch, sleeping outside like that, what are you thinking" he walked towards his bed, still mumbling a few words as Matsuri noticed he was half awake, she laughed half heartedly when she saw him fall into his bed, asleep again.

"Don't you have work today?" She asked which brought a groan out from the boy. She smiled again before taking a good look around the area. Sure she has been here before, but it was interesting each time she came. Naruto always left a few things out in the open that proved to be interesting.

She walked a little ways before pausing as she spotted an item that seemed to have distracted her. Her eyes stayed glued to the sword away from its sheath next to the wall as she felt her hands tremble once more.

"You still have that fear, don't you?"

Her head slowly turned to the sides, spotting Naruto who was rubbing at his eyes before a yawn escaped his throat.

She watched as he went to the sword, picked it up and allowed the metal to glimmer in the light. The action scared her for a moment before she bit her lip and turned away.

"It's ok Matsuri," she heard him speak as she felt his hand gently take hers.

She hesitated, a bit afraid being next to the blade that Naruto held in his other hand.

"Here, hold it, I promise you it won't hurt."

He held the handle of the blade in front of her, letting her decide whether to take it or not. She stared at the weapon with hesitant eyes before glancing up at Naruto. He nodded to her, smiling in reassurance as she took comfort in his eyes. Her will hardened somewhat before she reached out with one hand and actually touched the handle.

She pulled back as if touching something hot before Naruto moved it closer. Her hand took the handle as Naruto then turned the blade over to her.

"Hold it with two hands, you wouldn't want to drop it now," Naruto instructed as Matsuri gulped before placing her other hand on the handle.

She got the feel of the sword, slowly shaking as her lips trembled with the sight of the weapon.

"Relax," she felt his hands hold onto her own that were on the handle. She blushed as she felt his chest against her back, "it goes like this."

Naruto guided her, bringing the blade up with the dull edge pointing up to the roof. Once high enough, he swung down with her hands.

The blade cut forward, a vertical slice as Naruto spoke, "this is the basic strike of the sword, from there," he guided her hands, twisting the sword to the side before swishing it, "we can move to that side, or the other," he illustrated by slashing to her other side, "this sword is a tool, nothing more," he continued helping her with her strikes, watching how she slowly became comfortable with the weapon.

"I read it once before, that a sword is neither good nor evil that a sword cannot tell what is right or wrong." Matsuri blushed as her head turned to face him, she watched as a cheesy smiled appeared on his face.

"Well technically, swords are inanimate objects, so of course concepts of good and evil does not apply to the sword," he laughed to himself as a sweat drop appeared on Matsuri's face.

"Anyways," he released before walking away towards his kitchen, "you seem ok now, just remember, sharp edge towards your opponent, and dull edge towards yourself."

Matsuri rolled her eyes and shook her head before staring at the blade that was now held freely in her hands. 'I did it,' she sliced down again, amazed how fast she had gotten over her fears before the memory hit her. She closed her eyes, still holding tightly to the blade before opening them once again.

"The blade is a tool, nothing more," she repeated the words before walking towards the sheath near the side wall. She slipped the blade inside before staring at the cover, "thank you Naruto, how long has it been since I was able to approach one of these?"

Her eyes widened before she stood up and turned towards the kitchen where Naruto was standing near the sink, washing his face, "What time is it!"

"Huh," Naruto wiped his face with a towel before staring at one of the clocks. Matsuri stared as well before shaking her head.

"Oh no, I only have a few minutes to prepare for the Academy."

She rushed towards the door before looking for her sandals.

"Matsuri, calm down," Naruto appeared beside her, "tell me where you live, I'll drop you towards that area so you can get a head start."

"Sorry Naruto, I think it's faster if I ran alone," she found her sandals before placing it on.

A smirk appeared on Naruto's face before he shook his head, "trust me, what section of the village do you live?"

Matsuri stared at him for a moment, wondering what the boy was planning…

A few minutes later, in an alley where a certain rite was located, two figures appeared out of thin air. One seemed shocked as another was chuckling in amusement.

"That technique," Matsuri breathed out before staring at Naruto in amazement, "you still haven't told me what that technique is."

Naruto shook his head, "just a little secret between us, now then, I'll meet you back here in a few minutes, ok?"

Matsuri nodded before she ran off and Naruto disappeared once again in a yellow flash.

Few minutes later, after a quick shower and fresh change of clothes, Naruto met Matsuri once again before flashing off towards the academy.

They appeared in the back of the shadow of a tree where a paper rite had been hidden in the bark.

"So you planted them all over the village?" Matsuri asked as they walked out into the clearing, wondering if anyone saw them.

"Well yeah, I walked all over the place once before and I find this short cut will be easier for travel."

Naruto answered as he observed the academy in the near distance. They seemed to have made it with some time to spare as they spotted other academy students arriving.

"Thanks again Naruto," Matsuri said gratefully as Naruto shrugged it off, "and you're right, that is a lot faster plus, it feels new , travelling like that," she laughed as Naruto smiled in response. He then glanced around the neighborhood, observing how something felt off about the place. He spotted decorative items around the area, a few half set up, and others still covered up in a box.

"I wonder what's going on?" he asked himself before Matsuri nudged him.

He turned to face her, wondering what that was before he spotted her staring ahead. He turned to the direction before a smile rose from his face.

"Miko!" he waved towards the girl who paused with a surprised expression on her face.

He was happy when he spotted her and he showed by waving enthusiastically, and wondering if she had forgiven him.

Mikoshi hesitated at first, her hand twitched before she turned to the sides and headed towards the academy doors as if nothing happened.

The girl's action surprised him as he placed his hand down into his pocket before frowning, "she's still mad at me…" It was uncomfortable when he thought of what she had told him the other day, how as long as he continued to pursue Gaara, she wouldn't forgive him. Naruto knew she hated Gaara, but to take it this far, he could only hope she would talk to him soon and understand what he was trying to do.

"Don't worry Naruto," Matsuri patted his back, offering a comforting smile as Naruto nodded, "She'll come around, sooner or later."

"Yeah," he scratched the front of his hair as a sad sigh escaped his lips before he turned to his friend, "well, anyways, I never did ask you, but your home, was anyone worried that you didn't return?"

Her expression grew dim before she shook her head, "no, no one was worried Naruto, anyways," Matsuri tried to smile before pushing Naruto off slightly, "don't you have to go to work?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto laughed as well to calm the mood. He knew he had hit a spot but decided to leave it alone before he moved ahead, "see you later Matsuri," he waved before running off as Matsuri waved back. She giggled to herself, cheerful of the boy's attitude before she continued to the Academy and entered the doors.

A few steps inside, Matsuri felt some one was watching her which made her stop in her steps.

"Matsuri," said a voice behind her as she glanced back to the doors.

She found that girl, Mikoshi, leaning against the wall with an uncomfortable look on her face.

They weren't friends, really, Matsuri only knew Mikoshi as a classmate, nothing else. So it wasn't too surprising that she had an idea what Mikoshi wanted to ask.

"Yeah?" Matsuri answered back, watching as the bandana wearing girl, Mikoshi, wouldn't even glance at her.

"Are you and Naruto," she tightened her lip before continuing, "do you like Naruto?"

Matsuri was taken back but none the less, she nodded, "of course I like Naruto, I owe him a lot."

It seemed that wasn't the answer she was looking for as Mikoshi shook her head, "I mean do you really like him?"

"Oh," Matsuri understood what she meant before she faced the other way and answered, "and what if I do?"

Mikoshi frowned, "then I would be in trouble," she whispered so softly that Matsuri couldn't hear.

Instead, Matsuri sighed before shaking her head and glancing back at her, "I don't like Naruto like that Mikoshi," Mikoshi glanced up at the girl who briefly smiled at her and turned away, "if you want to know, there is someone else, but, I'd rather not tell anyone who it is, he's not really well liked..."

Silence as Matsuri watched the bandana wearing girl nod her head, maybe a bit relieved before Mikoshi stood from her spot, "I see," she started walking towards the classroom, only to pause once she went pass Matsuri.

"Just forgive him already, you should know that he hates making people worry about him," Matsuri spoke to the girl, watching as she remained silent, "it's just not in his nature to make people worry."

The response didn't have an effect on Mikoshi who shook her head before replying, "You seem to know him well, but you know as long as he keeps seeing that demon."

"The demon has a name Mikoshi, don't forget it," Matsuri corrected harshly to Mikoshi's surprise.

"Gaara, Gaara of the bloody sands," Mikoshi corrected sarcastically, earning a slight glare from the girl, "if Naruto keeps hanging around that murderer, he will get killed. I'm just tired of it, that demon killed my older brother, I just can't find it in me to ever forgive him."

They turned away from each other, both of them knew that Gaara was murderous but Matsuri had a feeling about Naruto, she knew he would somehow change things.

"You should place your trust in Naruto like I do," Mikoshi stared at Matsuri who spoke with such determination that it surprised her , "I know he won't die to Gaara, he won't," Matsuri soon walked pass the girl before whispering out, "I feel as if Naruto can't fail, I may worry for him as a friend but somehow, something tells me that Naruto won't die in this village," she smiled while saying it, her eyes confident and full with respect in which Mikoshi had to turn away in shame.

"He may not seem like it but he was hurt when you stopped talking to him."

The response earned a twitch from the bandana wearing girl who couldn't respond as Matsuri watched her for a second before turning away. There was nothing left for her to say as she walked into her classroom, leaving Mikoshi to think in silence in the hallway…

Naruto sneezed as he entered his work; a sigh escaped his throat as he knew the manager wouldn't be too excited to seeing him since his early leave the other day.

"Well, here I go," he spoke before he saw his manager in the counter and he decided to get it over with…

…**Elsewhere in Sand…**

The Kazekage glared at the writing written in the scroll. He stood abruptly before staring out into the window from his office, taking in the morning rays of his village.

"Who does this ninja think he is," he spoke to himself before taking the scroll and rolling it up.

The leader of the sand destroyed the scroll before rubbing at his forehead, 'a meeting late at night on the outskirts of my village?' he spoke to himself, wondering what he would do. It seemed the leader of that newly formed sound village was already on his way here, un-announced which annoyed the Kazekage. It was rude and he could only question the confidence this ninja had for doing this, and especially the late meeting tonight, it sounded shady to him.

"Hmp, well fine," the Kazekage stared out into his village once more with his eyes glaring over the distance, "if he wants to feel the wrath of sand village, I will show it to him."

He spoke in annoyance with his mind already made up. He would meet this leader tonight, and show him to respect Sand village, one of the great shinobi villages.

…**Naruto…**

The day went by normally for Naruto; he was scolded by his boss but nothing too drastic before he was sent off to work in the kitchen again. He did the same things, helping out the cooks and learning how to cook before his lunch break came by.

He was a bit saddened to see that Mikoshi had yet to forgive him but was glad to see that Mikoshi's friends Kashike and Nari had stopped by to give him their support. Nejiri and Matsuri had stopped by as well and they shared a few laughs before heading back to the academy.

All seemed normal until the end of the day when Naruto had gotten off work.

He held a bag with him, just a container storing food he would consume later as a snack before he exited his work.

A few paces up, he felt as if he was being watched with a small killer intent added into the mix. Naruto stopped in his path before turning around. He glanced up a tall building before finding out who it was.

"Gaara," Naruto said as the sand ninja turned around and silently walked away.

Naruto took that as an invitation before he leapt to the wall, kicked off several stones from the building and landed on the roof. He ran towards Gaara before finally arriving by his side in the roof.

Gaara didn't seem to notice him, but Naruto knew he had the boy's attention.

The blonde reached into his bag before quickly tossing an item towards Gaara who caught it with one hand. He stared at the red object for a moment before glancing back at Naruto who had a similar one, already consuming it in his mouth.

"Don't worry, the apple isn't poisoned," Naruto reassured it by taking another big bite on the apple and swallowing.

The action didn't faze Gaara who calmly took a bite before replying.

"Even if it was," Gaara spoke in a monotone voice that sounded uninterested, "my body would destroy the poison."

"Oh," thinking about what kind of past Gaara had, it didn't surprise Naruto that Gaara had been poisoned before, but still, it added to the list of why Gaara doesn't trust anyone.

They were silent when they walked through the roof of the sand building, a sort of hushed compliance from the both of them as they soon finished their apple and stopped near the edge of the building.

Naruto sat down on the ledge, kicking his feet out and placing the bag next to Gaara who calmly stared down at it.

"Help yourself," Naruto pointed to the bag before leaning back on his arms.

"Tell me why?"

"Huh," Naruto glanced at the sand ninja.

Confusion, mistrust, and hatred, all these emotions combined and Gaara only had one face for them, a stoic mask that hid most of the human feelings away from others. Naruto could feel it though; it was vibrating out of the boy's body like a sound of glass being hit by a metallic stick.

"Why do you fight?"

A chuckled answer earned a glare from Gaara. Naruto found the boy easily irritated but it was understandable.

"Why do you laugh, you think it foolish?" there was killer intent laced around those words that told Naruto to tread lightly but Naruto didn't seem too concern.

"Sorry," Naruto scratched his head awkwardly before answering, "it's just that, I'm not sure how to explain it."

Gaara didn't seem satisfied, "then try to instead of wasting my time."

"How is hanging out with me a waste of time?" Naruto asked calmly, trying not to provoke the boy, "if we are to be friends, we should learn to tolerate each other, neh?"

The demon of the sand narrowed his eyes at the blonde; a few thoughts entered his mind and some of them not so pleasant.

"I don't need a friend, I need answers, and all I am getting is nothing."

"Fine, I'll try to explain then."

Naruto breathed in before speaking, "I fight, because I can."

It was a tilt on Gaara's head that indicated that Naruto needed to be clearer.

The blonde closed his eyes, his mind reflecting to the beginning, to the incident in his village, "I've learned to fight, because I thought I would need it to defend myself. It's true by the way, it is very helpful for defending myself, but recently, I've been wondering what pushes me to fight battles I don't want to. Is it because I am defending myself or is it because I just want too?"

Naruto sat up with his eyes open, he stared down at his hands, remembering the first person he killed, "I can't begin to imagine how you lived your life, it is something I wouldn't wish upon anyone."

"Get on with it," Naruto glanced up at Gaara who turned away, "my past is irrelevant."

The blonde nodded and continued, "The first person I killed, it was to protect someone I cared deeply for. You see, I always remember that day, my first kill, I am not sure if I regret it or not, and I keep telling myself that, that ninja was going to take her away I had to do it," Naruto shook his head, trying to sum up his feelings and not over extend it, "what I mean is, I fight to protect. I want to use my fists to protect people, instead of killing them."

"Death is the only sure way to deal with a problem," Gaara argued back, earning Naruto's attention, "it doesn't matter what you feel when you kill a person. Emotions give you nothing but pain and suffering."

"No, you're wrong Gaara," Naruto stood up and faced Gaara, his eyes filled with determination as he spoke, "have you ever saved someone's life, ever get thanked for helping others."

A past image replayed in Gaara's mind, something that brought him to grab at his head before shaking it off. His eyes turned to hatred as he glared at Naruto, "helping others?" he closed his eyes, remembering the past again, "I did it once, and I was scorned for it. Why should I help these pitiful humans, they lie and cover up what I used to call love, and all through my life they've done nothing but try to kill me."

An answer, he needed an answer as he spoke harshly to Naruto, but to the blonde, he felt as if Gaara was pleading to him to find something more than an answer, a solution to a problem that had started ever since Gaara was a child.

"But Gaara, you're human too," Naruto watched as Gaara flinched before remaining stoic once again, "I don't know everything Gaara but at least I know you're strong. If you can survive these attacks, then what would happen if you stopped killing the villagers and ninjas from your village? What if instead, you helped them? Maybe it would stop all this talk about you being a demon."

"Hmp," Gaara turned away, facing his back towards him.

Naruto pushed with his words, "you can still change, you are who you choose to be and I wish you would also be the protector."

"No, it will change nothing."

Naruto shook his head before smiling, "Not now, but in time, it doesn't really matter then does it? You are still who you are but this is your village; you have to live with the consequences of your actions. They may try to kill you, but you're strong Gaara, you'll survive."

There was no response as Naruto continued to watch the sand ninja, "just think about it ok, I'll help you through it."

The stoic eyes of the killer closed somewhat, his head slightly tilted to the sides in deep thought before they widened. His eyes had spotted something in the village below, something that brought him sadness.

"It's that time again," Gaara said as Naruto raised a brow in confusion.

"Huh?"

Gaara closed his eyes before walking away, "I am taking my leave."

Before Gaara would leave, Naruto had to make sure, "Just tell me you'll think about it Gaara," Naruto pleaded, watching as Gaara briefly glanced at him before disappearing in a shroud of sand.

Naruto sighed before sitting on the ledge again, taking another apple out from his bag and staring into the village, watching how the setting sun casted an orange light throughout the area.

'What did he mean it's that time again?' Naruto wondered before taking a bite on his apple.

He was slightly happy though at the outcome, he knew he had Gaara thinking and he was lucky that, that conversation didn't involve any bloodshed, 'I hope this works out in the end,' Naruto thought while wondering if he said the right things.

It was just then that a figure was walking down the streets. He looked up before spotting the bright blonde boy sitting on top of one of the villager's building before a smile appeared on his face.

"Oi, Naruto!" he waved as the said person stared down with an apple still in his mouth.

Naruto swallowed before waving back, "Oh, Nejiri," Naruto waved before gathering his bag and jumping down to the floor.

His friend watched with slight surprise while measuring the length of the building and the jump Naruto had made. For a regular villager, it would be painful, but he knew Naruto was no regular villager.

"What's up?"

"I'm glad I found you," Nejiri rubbed at his chin with a concentrated look before shaking his head, "I was supposed to tell you about the autumn festival tomorrow."

"Oh," Naruto appeared surprised at the word. The autumn festival, Naruto knew that almost all the villages celebrate it. The ones in Konoha were filled with many games and spectacular sites, but he knew that other villages celebrated it differently from others. He smiled before reaching into his bag and pulling another apple out and handing it to Nejiri who took it in surprise, "tell me about it."

Neijiri blinked several times before nodding.

It was several minutes later as they arrived at a bench near one of the sand houses in the streets. Nejiri had continued describing how the autumn festival was celebrated here.

"I see," Naruto was excited as he received the info, his assumptions where true, the sand village celebrated it differently. It was the same with the food and the game booths but the main attraction was the autumn dance near the huge fireplace. It was different because in konoha, he didn't have a dance like this, plus, the music was played by drums with other instruments around several blazing fires, and they had to do a sort of dance either with friends or couples.

Nejiri couldn't describe it all but he said it was amazing at night and he described it was some ancient celebration that the descendents of sand village, who where desert nomads, invented as a tradition for the village.

Naruto watched all around him, now he knew what all the decorations were for.

"Yeah, and the best part would be the autumn princess," Nejiri had a nostalgic look on his face with a feint blush. Naruto tilted his head before replying.

"Autumn princess?"

Nejiri nodded furiously, "Yeah, we have an autumn princess, usually around the academy students' age and an Autumn Queen, an adult," He sighed wistfully into the night air with a smile, "they are picked each year by the council, and no one knows who they are because in the festival, they wear the masks of autumn…I wonder if the autumn princess will pick me to be a dance partner," he was distracted as he said it before sighing, "oh well, still, I hope she'll be there."

"Hmm," Naruto had a toothy grin before he knuckled Nejiri's head, "She, who's she?"

Nejiri pulled away with a grin, "uh, Yadda, yadda," he waved his arms around before laughing awkwardly, "Nothing, anyways, do you know who you're going with?"

Naruto hummed out loud while scratching his chin, "it's really last minute to think about it but, I think I'll just go alone and observe." He turned to his friend before flinching.

"W-what's with that look?"

Nejiri's eyes stared at Naruto with an unbelievable expression, "that sounds just sad and lonely."

"Ch, idiot," Naruto placed his hands behind his head and leaned back into the bench, "who asked you anyways?"

Nejiri chuckled before following his example, "well, there's Kashike and Nari, I am pretty sure they wouldn't say no to you asking them."

"Oh," Naruto tilted his head down, allowing his hair to cover his eyes.

"Yeah, well, there's also that girl Matsuri," Nejiri nodded his head, "every time I see her in the academy, she always says cool things about you," Nejiri thought for a moment before turning to Naruto. He frowned before sighing and leaning back into the bench, "you guys still didn't make up yet, did you?"

Naruto chuckled sadly before staring into the now night skies, "as long as I am friends with Gaara, she will never forgive me."

It was uncomfortable to Nejiri whenever Gaara's name was brought up, and it was understandable, especially if you've lived in this village long enough.

"I wonder if Gaara feels even more alone during this time of the year." Naruto asked himself out loud before he felt the bench shake briefly. He turned to Nejiri who casted a dark shadow on his face.

"Several years ago, Gaara tried to attend the festival."

Naruto sat up as Nejiri spoke, "people were terrified, everything just stopped the music, and the dancing. It was as if death itself entered and I remembered that no one said a word at that time. We all watched what Gaara would do," Nejiri scratched at his dark hair, his palm covering his right eye as the memory replayed in his mind, "we all thought he would go berserk and destroy the place but instead, he left without saying a single word. Of course we weren't able to continue the celebration and most of the villagers hated Gaara even more but still, after that day, I have noticed that Gaara never tried to attend the festivals at all," he faced Naruto with a look that couldn't be described, "I know what you are trying to do for Gaara and you have my support, I just hope this info helps you."

Nejiri waved at Naruto as he started walking away, "well, good night Naruto. Think about what you're going to do, the festival is tomorrow night."

"Yeah, good night," Naruto replied before gathering his items. The festival brought the image of Gaara into his mind, and after what Nejiri had said, Naruto had to wonder if Gaara still respected certain aspects of this village, such as the festivals which were filled of fun, and maybe the academy where the students dwell. If Gaara was still respectful towards this festival, then that would mean that Gaara still had human values, untainted by the demon Shukaku.

It was that small glimmer of hope that made Naruto smile as he continued to ponder. He slipped into an alley before activating his technique and disappearing in a flash of light.

He returned home, to his homey apartment he had rented the first day he had arrived at the village. The bag he carried was quickly opened and the contents was placed into its proper storage locations, along with the bag before Naruto soon went to change for his nightly training.

He dressed into a regular sand dweller's outfit, a brown tunic that could hide his face while he wore slightly baggy pants. During the day, the temperature could scorch a regular person to death in the desert but at the night, it was the opposite, sheer cold was your enemy here.

Naruto placed on a cloak before lifting his sword, leaning on the wall, and placing it across his shoulder which let the sword hang in its sheath behind his back.

'Demons, kamis,' Naruto pondered for a moment, wondering why he felt an uneasiness settle into his stomach. These creatures he faced where mythical beings he had read in books, basically, they were fairy tales.

His hand pulled down the tunic that covered his mouth before he rubbed at his chin, he had a demon kami as an ally, and he wasn't sure why he was worried. Then it hit him, he realized there was something missing as he remembered the demon fox Kyuubi and the demon tanuki Shukaku.

'Kamis are spirit gods but demons or akumas, maleficent spirits, evil spirits,' Naruto's head turned to the side, slowly trying to grasp why he was so worried about it. He remembered how he had met Kyuubi, a demon held captive in a cave near Leaf village, there was a faded note in the entrance, maybe that was what hid the demon's presence but then again, 'Kyuubi is a demon but it called himself a kami. Weren't they different?'

Naruto rubbed at his head, wondering what this could mean. He had never studied folklore too much but what he knew about spirit gods and demons was certain, they were different but they were the same as Day, night, hot, cold, ying, and yang, opposites of the same side.

'So Kyuubi,' Naruto mentally spoke to himself, 'what are you, a demon or a kami?'

There was a knock on his door that brought him out of his thoughts, it sounded strange to Naruto because it was more of a pound than a knock, and it was one pound, like some sort of rock being thrown to his door.

Naruto took a moment to debate whether he should answer it or let it be. He waited; standing still in the room, wondering if the sound would come again…there was none.

'I wonder what that was,' he scratched his head before turning around, to face the window that he was prepared to exit by.

His hands reached the sides of the window silt, prepared to open the glass until he saw it pop out of the shadow. A figure appeared in this window, scaring Naruto who yelped out in surprise and fell back to the floor.

Naruto scooted back as he watched his window open automatically with the figure walking inside with the shadow of the night covering his entrance.

"_**Naruto"**_

The voice was slightly deep filled with killer intent that it actually surprised Naruto at how familiar it felt.

The blonde's eyes soon adjusted to the dark before he spotted who this figure was.

"G-Gaara?"

…**Few minutes later…**

The light now filled his apartment, allowing the full view of Gaara who calmly observed the surroundings. Naruto grumbled as he set his blade on the table before crossing his arms and staring at Gaara.

"Honestly, isn't this called breaking and entering?"

It didn't amuse Gaara who continued to observe the apartment. The non-reaction made Naruto sigh before he started walking off towards one of his walls, opposite of Gaara. He leaned on it before speaking, "so, how did you find me?"

No answer, Naruto grew just a bit irritated.

"So this is where you live," Gaara said mostly to himself, before walking around the area, "where are you headed?"

"I was going to train; I usually do this at night," Naruto shrugged, answering normally, "why, where did you think I was going?"

"Hmp," Gaara's stare was one that could even make grown men feel uneasy, and now it was pointed at Naruto.

"I wondered if you would run away."

"Gha," Naruto momentarily lost his balance before shaking his head, "thanks for the support," there was a sarcastic ring to his voice.

"Anyways," Naruto started heading towards the door with Gaara watching, "can we continue this outside, I'd rather not miss out on my training."

In response, the demon of the sand closed his eyes before nodding. Naruto opened the door for Gaara while making a sarcastic motion for the red haired boy to pass through, but to his dismay, Gaara didn't seem affected by it. He walked calmly through the opened door while Naruto exited last, closing the light and locking the door.

They started on the streets, walking normally as Naruto noted that not many people were out tonight but they did notice that the buildings had more decorations from earlier that day.

"I sensed a chakra spike earlier while I was around this area," Gaara started as Naruto realized he was actually answering the question from earlier, "it only took a moment until I realized it was you."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "and so you found where I lived," he faced the boy, watching the unchanging stoic expression which made Naruto wonder if Gaara actually smiled before. He tilted his head, watching as Gaara's stance seemed peculiar. The boy's right shoulder was slanted upwards with his head slightly tilted, and if Naruto knew better, Gaara was pondering over something.

'But what, I wonder?'

Gaara stopped in his tracks with Naruto following. There was light overlaying them from the lamp post above which allowed them their full view. Gaara turned to Naruto, his eyes watching and waiting as he asked, "that power from before, is that your demon?"

It was awkward for Naruto, how could he explain it? His mind was telling him that Kyuubi isn't a normal demon, just like how he suspected Shukaku was no ordinary demon as well. He could just say yes, but then that would lead to other questions regarding the fact that Kyuubi is a demon which would insinuate that Kyuubi was a blood thirsty evil spirit but he knew that Kyuubi wasn't.

What even surprised Naruto was that he was actually pondering all of this in mere seconds.

"Hmp, we've been followed."

Naruto was interrupted out of his thoughts as small grains of sand started to shift in the air.

Remembering the stories of Gaara's past, about the assassins that would come after Gaara, Naruto tensed as he placed his hands behind his back, tapping each palm as a kunai appeared in each hand, one a regular one and another with a paper rite attached to it.

They both turned to the front of the lamp post, they each sensed a figure walking towards them but they couldn't see because of the dark.

Soon they heard the tapping footsteps heading towards them, Naruto walked forward before calling out, "Who's there!"

They sensed the figure stop in its approach before a feminine voice called out.

"Naruto?"

The blonde was taken aback before he placed the kunais away and the figure walked into the light.

Her hair looked black because of the night but in the light it showed that it was brown while her eyes stared at the both of them in surprise.

"Matsuri? Naruto questioned before sighing in relief. He scolded his features before speaking, "what are you doing out here?"

They saw how awkward she was standing there, unsure how to answer the question. Naruto wondered what was wrong as Gaara folded his arms together and turned away.

"Why do you always follow me?" Gaara asked, his eyes not directed at her but closed.

Naruto looked between the two, he saw Matsuri staying silent, her eyes cast down as Gaara seemed calmed somehow. He pondered for a bit, wondering what that could mean until he remembered his conversation with Matsuri from yesterday.

"_You know where he is don't you? You've been following him around, haven't you?"_

Come to think of if, it was Matsuri who had told him Gaara's location, but then, he turned to Gaara and he had to wonder how long Gaara knew and why didn't he kill the girl like other villagers.

It seemed Gaara's patience was wearing thin as he started walking away, "annoyance," he turned back and stared at them before facing forward again, "don't waste my time." He disappeared into the darkness as Naruto called out to him.

"Sheesh, that guy has no patience at all," Naruto spoke out loud while shaking his head.

'But there is a pattern to it, he always leaves when things turn out,' how could he attempt to explain it, 'awkward.' He turned to Matsuri who started to leave as well.

"Hold it," Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her, "I understand Gaara but you," he released as Matsuri turned around to face him but her eyes dared not to look at his face, "what's your excuse?"

She was silent but Naruto could tell she was embarrassed; he wasn't sure how he knew because she seemed to be good at hiding her emotions.

"Can we just leave it alone Naruto?" she practically pleaded, not trying to look at his face.

"Matsuri, just answer me," He tried to make her comfortable by smiling and speaking softly which seemed to have a positive effect on her, "why are you following Gaara?"

She turned away, a reaction that proved that she indeed was embarrassed, "it's not that I like him, it's just, I want to understand him."

Naruto tilted his head, pondering on her words as she continued.

"Why doesn't he stop? We all live here why does he have to kill his own people?"

She shook her head as if shaking an image from the past, "I've seen him kill, the way he smiles. Every time his sands soak the blood from his kills, he laughs, laughs while he rubs the kanji on his forehead."

Just that image being sent to Naruto's mind was enough to send a shiver down his spine, and as he observed the girl, he knew she was shivering as well.

"They call him insane but then they don't know that he is really crying," Matsuri finally glanced at Naruto, her eyes moist before she grabbed onto his collar, "is that really his existence, why can't anyone else see it," she tightened her grip on his collar with her body shaking, "he doesn't want this, he's not laughing out of joy, each day he is growing more insane because everyone is allowing it. I can see that Gaara isn't the monster, we are for allowing him to become like this," her head burrowed into Naruto's chest as the boy placed his hand onto her back, gently soothing her, "I don't understand what the Kazekage is thinking and I don't know why this bothers me so much."

Naruto released her, watching as she regained her composure but he could see that she was deeply troubled by this.

"It's because you like him, right?" Naruto smiled, watching as Matsuri blushed in response.

"No," She shook her head, arguing back, "why would I, who in their right mind would…"

She didn't finish as she spotted the look on Naruto's face, he smiled as if glad.

"Let me take a guess, it was hate at first, you followed him because you wanted to understand why he would kill but then somehow, you got a glimpse of the real Gaara. Matsuri," he placed his hands on her shoulder, his grin wide opened, "the way I see it, you already understand Gaara, and it is that understanding that has turned you to admire him."

She scowled, her eyes too embarrassed to look at his direction, "no it's not."

"Yes it…"

He couldn't finish the sentence when he felt her blow. He still chuckled though, a bit painfully while he rubbed at his stomach as he watched Matsuri turn away with her arms crossed.

"Ok well," Naruto chuckled again before standing straight, "at least now I know who I can turn to when I need help."

"Huh?" She faced him as her expression turned to confusion.

Naruto rubbed at his nose, grinning all the way, "both of us need to help Gaara alright, Matsuri, I'll be counting on you from now on."

The surprised expression on her face told Naruto she was too shocked to answer. Her lips tightened and Naruto wondered what she would say.

"He'll kill me."

"Not if I'm there he won't"

"He doesn't like me"

"He doesn't like me either"

"But I'm afraid of him"

"And yet you've followed him all these times"

Naruto stared at her, his eyes firm as she equally stared into his, "so Matsuri, can I count on yah?"

She wanted to say no, she was too scared but she knew she had to do this, even if she wished it, Naruto wouldn't be here forever…that was another thing.

It wasn't hard to tell that Naruto wouldn't stay in this village forever. There was some sort of aura around the boy, something that told her that he would do anything for his friends but it was that same aura that told her that he was not one to be caged; he would be out there again, exploring the world.

She smiled even though that sad thought crossed her mind, if that ever came to be, then she would have to take responsibility to look after Gaara.

"Alright Naruto," She found her-self nodding her head even though she wasn't sure what she would do, "I'll help."

"Excellent," Naruto clapped his hands together before nodding in joy, "from now on, we'll both help him, ok?"

She nodded, maybe a bit excited as well before she finally got a good look on Naruto's face.

"Hey Naruto," the boy stared at her questionably as Matsuri placed a finger on one of his cheeks, "have you always had those marking on your cheeks?"

"Huh," his face was dumbfounded as he rubbed at his cheek, "markings?"

Matsuri quickly reached into her pouch, pulling out a pocket mirror before handing it to Naruto. The boy took the mirror and shined it in the light so that he could get a clear image. He spotted it, it was thin but he saw the three dark lines that stood out like whisker marks on his cheeks.

'W-what, where did this come from?' his mind panicked as he tried to rub at it. These markings, he remembered seeing them the other day but he was sure it was a figment of his imagination, but now they are real, but what did that mean.

"Matsuri, I have to go," he quickly started running off, "I'll see you tomorrow," he soon disappeared into the night, leaving Matsuri to wonder what was going on.

She wondered if she should be worried before she shrugged and decided to ask Naruto tomorrow. Her foots started walking forward, directed towards her home before she felt someone's gaze on her. Her head turned around, staring into dark night, watching as nothing moved in the buildings from above before she twitched her lip and decided to run instead of walking to her home instead.

In the building above, hidden behind the wall, Gaara watched with an impassive look, his eyes downcast before he touched his forehead where the tattooed kanji was. Nothing more was said before he too, disappeared in a dispersion of sand.

…**Elsewhere…**

He sat on his desk with his arms lying on the sides of his chair. The kanji for wind and leader were imprinted on his hat as he stared into the emptiness of his office, "it's almost time for that meeting," one of his eyes twitched before he clenched his hands, forming fists, "but what is this uneasiness?"

His mind pondered, wondering if he would really do battle with this uninvited guest…

…**Naruto…**

Naruto had quickly used the flash technique and appeared outside the village skirts. He ran farther away so he wouldn't be noticed before finally finding a spot and settling down.

The night air was cold but since there were no lamps lighting the area, he had the full view of the moon and the stars that provided light, but it wasn't enough for him to see whatever these scars were on his cheeks.

His hand lifted up towards the mirror while his mind went through the list of fire attacks he knew. He wondered if he could summon something that can provide him with just a brief amount of light so that he could continued to inspect his cheek.

Just like a wish, in an instance, light was granted. A small ball of fire appeared on the palm on Naruto's hand, surprising him for a moment that he almost dropped the mirror.

Naruto stared at the ball of fire that floated on top of the palm of his left hand, slowly, he faced the palm forward, concentrating harder as the fire grew bigger, "how am I doing this?" he questioned out loud.

"And in time as our bond increases so will my influence be seen…"

The voice startled Naruto out of his discovery as he dropped the mirror into the sand and aimed the ball of fire towards the area he heard the voice.

The fire from his hand died out when he felt a gust of wind smack into his body, he tumbled back before bumping into something soft. It was pale hands that hugged the boy, embracing him into the soft substance he felt behind him.

He turned around, and watched as the stars and the moon from the skies brought little light upon the beauty that held onto him.

Naruto blushed as he saw her face, her eyes were kind but there was a dangerous look to them, her lips bright red, and her skin soft, especially her touch as she patted Naruto's head. Her hair was long and red, reaching down to the sand as her dark kimono only brought out the paleness of her skin.

To him, she looked like a beautiful ghost in the dead of night.

"W-who," Naruto gulped, trying his hardest to resist this strange aura that surrounded this person, "who are you?"

She giggled in merry delight, something that sounded more like a hum for a song as her eyes turned away, "my dear Naruto," she pouted before batting her eyes at him, "do you not remember me?"

She crept forward as Naruto shifted back until she reached his face, smiling once more, "my young acolyte?"

'Acolyte?" his eyes widened as realization struck, "Kyuubi!"

She winked at him as a pleasant laugh escaped her throat. Naruto scowled as he crossed his legs and glared at the fabled beast, "knock it off, and change your form."

"And since when does a lowly servant tell the master what to do?" her eyes were filled with hidden mirth, causing Naruto to sigh in annoyance.

"Since when was I your servant? I thought we formed a partnership or something."

Kyuubi waved it off; the form the creature took gently swished her hair before eyeing Naruto, "partnerships, servants, what's the difference? We are together and you believe in me, right?"

No answer, Naruto continued to watch her with a look that showed he wasn't amused.

She pouted while turning away, "alright then, I'll change to something more appropriate," she snapped her fingers before disappearing in the wind.

Naruto watched in front of him as a man appeared from the darkness. He was the same man he remembered from that night so many days ago from leaf village. His face was pale and his pupils were bright yellow with slit dark irises. His hair was tied down, samurai style while he had a black cloth headband tied onto his head. The outfit showed him as a rounin, leather armor attached all around him with designs of some imperial guard of some sort. He looked like a normal warrior but Naruto could see the elongated fox like ears and the sharp fangs almost sticking out of the creature's mouth that identified him as no human being.

"So then little one," Kyuubi's voice had changed, it became that of a male, matching the voice of the figure it took. He waved a hand in the air, "you have questions?"

"Yes, what's happening to me?" Naruto pointed to his face, specifically, the whisker marks.

Kyuubi nodded, "it's only natural for an acolyte to be marked, that shows a bond between you and me."

"A bond?" Naruto questioned as he felt his cheeks once again, "will I receive anymore markings?"

The shrug he received from the fox wasn't the answer he was looking for, but that only reminded him of something else.

"You are wondering if I'm a demon, correct?" Kyuubi asked, surprising Naruto who could only stare in shock.

"Yes but, how did you know?"

The being chuckled before answering, "I hear your prayers."

"Prayers, what prayers," Naruto questioned, he didn't remember praying at all.

A deep chuckle arose from kyuubi, "when you speak a question, who does it go to? When you will it to something out there, who receives it? You, as my acolyte, talk to me through this way, take comfort knowing that I hear you when you call, and I understand when you question."

Still confusion in Naruto's mind as he wondered what Kyuubi was speaking of.

"I've been watching you Naruto," Kyuubi's eyes seeped into Naruto, watching his every move. It unnerved the boy, having those eyes stare at him, "I have to say, it surprised even me how much you follow my ways that it questions whether our meeting in that cavern was merely part of our destiny."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked while the fox warrior let out a feral grin.

"You contain many aspects of a wind kitsune and within the kitsune, you follow our ways," Naruto continued listening, his ears wide open as Kyuubi spoke, "you hate being controlled, an aspect of wind, you wish to move freely to do your own tasks. You seek knowledge, like a fox, you are curious, sharp, and cunning for a child your age. Deny it if you want, but you enjoy chaos, changing the way everyone lives by but like the laws all kitsunes obey, you still have your own rules to follow, and finally, you stick close to your kind."

The last one Naruto couldn't understand, "but I thought you said before that you hated other kitsunes."

"One of the laws established by the Ten Tailed Lady," Kyuubi spoke as if irritated, "no matter what the cause, we do not kill our own kind, sure there are punishments, but we must obey this rule…something I hate and I never did say that," he mumbled the last part as Naruto nodded.

"But what does this mean then, are you a kami?"

Kyuubi remained still as he answered, "That is difficult to answer."

"How is it difficult?" Naruto asked, wondering what could have the beast stumped.

The warrior tilted slightly before finally answering, "That tanuki you fought is a tailed beast, one tailed beast to be precise," Naruto nodded in agreement, wondering what it had to do with it, "there is something different between tailed beasts and demons and kamis, we, how do you say," Kyuubi rubbed at its temples, "we possess both traits."

"But what-"

He was cut off by Kyuubi who continued to speak, "like a Kami, we listen to prayers and grant blessings, and like a demon, we harness evil powers, but unlike them, we do not disappear once we are forgotten, and we are not truly evil beings who devour souls. We possess the powerful aspect of each trait, something that shuns us out from our kins."

Naruto already covered his eyes, his head still un-too sure before he just shook his head, "ok, never mind, tell me more about these blessings."

"You've already been using the blessings," this caused Naruto to stare at him strangely, "you have the blessings of a regular demon fox. The flame you just used earlier was a tiny form of fox fire, your eyes are more keen, your sense and smell are enhanced, your mind has become sharper, your reflex is faster, you heal quicker than regular humans and like all kitsunes, your illusion skills can now fool even those with the strongest eyes. My aspect of the wind will increase your aspect of the wind, making it a strong tool for you to use. I can bestow more blessings later, but there is a warning I would like to give you."

The demon fox stared at Naruto with serious eyes, "the demon's gift I grant you from time to time, that energy, do you remember?"

Naruto nodded, it was the same energy he used in the Leaf village, also in his battle against Gaara.

"That demonic power can consume you; it gives you the darker aspect of the wind, the destruction, unrelenting power, and the vicious killings. Too much will tear your body and transform you into a likeness of a demon until its powers fade off. It may be powerful, but it does come with a price, understand?"

"I do," Naruto did understand, especially the sensations he felt when given that power was ridiculous, and, it also lead him to his first kill.

"Alright then my young acolyte," Kyuubi stood up before reaching into his pocket, "here is a small gift for you," he took out a green stone, a size of a pebble that was no bigger than a marble.

Naruto took the pebble from the demon's hand, placed it on his palm and watched it for a moment. He did feel a tingle, "what is it?"

"It was something I found on my travels," Kyuubi grinned, watching as Naruto took out a small bag and slipped the pebble into it before placing the small bag into his back pouch, "It is quite fascinating if you ask me," he chuckled.

"I'll figure it out later, anyways, I still need to train, now that I know what I have, this should be interesting," Naruto nodded with excitement, wondering if this foxfire and wind element would prove to be very useful.

"Servants of Inari bring information, knowledge from around the world back to him."

Naruto turned to Kyuubi, watching as the demon stared into the night sky.

"Kistunes were once worshipped as creatures of knowledge, seekers, but that was a long time ago," the creature turned to Naruto, his face stoic, "there is knowledge buried in this desert, I can feel it, but you have to promise me something young kit."

'Kit now?' Naruto questioned in his mind with a small twitch before asking, "What is it?"

"If I show you that knowledge, I want you to learn it, understand, and not only that knowledge, if you come across any knowledge you find useful, learn them as well, don't hesitate to take it."

"But why?" Naruto questioned, wondering what had gotten into the demon fox.

"I will not have a weak acolyte, you understand? You represent me now and my ways," Kyuubi turned around, striking down in the air as a portal formed, "the downside for a tailed beast is that, we are only allowed one acolyte, and I haven't had one in many years," he glared at Naruto, those demonic eyes piercing through the boy, "promise me you will use the knowledge you find in this desert to become stronger, promise me this and I will help you become something more than what you are now."

Was he making the right choice, could he really make this promise? Naruto had to question if this was the same as sealing his soul with a demon.

'No, it's not,' Naruto told himself as his eyes hardened, 'I will take the consequences of my actions,' he remembered the adventures so far, the people around him. He wanted to help them, to protect all he could, even if he had to do it by himself.

"I promise."

A smirk grew on Kyuubi's face as he swished down on Naruto, "good."

The sand sucked Naruto in, frightening the boy who frantically tried to escape.

"I'll see you again, my young acolyte," Kyuubi laughed as he entered the portal and disappeared.

Naruto quickly pulled out one of his kunai with a rite attached to it. He threw it to the side before he stopped struggling, 'at least now, I know I can escape,' he spoke before he was fully engulfed by the sand.

He felt the sand shift around him, pulling and pushing him around that he wasn't sure which direction was up and which direction was down. It continued for a few more seconds until Naruto felt the sands stop. He wiggled his foot, surprised that it was uninhibited by the sand before he felt his body slowly falling.

The sand collapsed and he was sent sliding down to a dark pocket underground, his body smacked the ground that he felt was made out of stone of some sort before he picked himself up. It was too dark to see and he wondered how he would gather some light until he remembered the blessing Kyuubi had given him.

An orb of fire appeared in the palm of his hand as he lifted it up in the air, it lighted the area, allowing Naruto the full glimpse of the situation. He turned to the area he entered, the ceiling must have collapsed in time since the hallway was blocked full of sand, in which he turned the other way and found that it lead to somewhere else.

'What is this place?' Naruto had to ask himself before he stood up and decided to follow the path ahead.

It was still dark, even with the glowing light in his palm, as his footsteps continued to tap on the solid ground that seemed to have aged in time. Naruto watched the small orb of fire in his palm as he remembered it being called fox fire.

'If it's the same as that time then…'

He lifted his hand up before concentrating on his chakra. The orb grew brighter before suddenly taking off in the air. He felt some sort of connection with the orb of fire, maybe it was still connected to his chakra somehow, even as it hovered in the air, he could feel his chakra powering the light. He concentrated on the light before willing it forward, and when it obeyed, Naruto had a wide smile.

"I wonder how many I can produce?" he whispered until the light reached further up and his eyes spotted something on the wall.

He quickly moved towards the wall before spotting something written in the old stone. It was a seal and as Naruto inspected it, it was some sort of starting mechanism.

The blonde placed his hand onto the old seal before powering it with his chakra, it had the effect he needed as bursts of light lit the walls on each side throughout the hallway. Naruto soon cancelled the fire technique and stared at the path ahead which lead to a large iron double door with writing on top, he read, 'research lab.'

Questions arose in his mind, some hopeful while others curious at what would be behind those double iron doors. He soon found his footsteps leading him towards the door before he pushed hard. It didn't budge and Naruto could see why, one of the doors hinges was stuck, he tried to push the left door which left a creaking noise with pieces of dust and debris falling from the top.

The door moved stubbornly, creaking slowly into the room until Naruto gave one final push and the path was open to a dark room in which the blonde automatically formed an orb of fire to light the way.

He spotted another one of those seals with the help of his light until he activated it as well. The lights appeared all over the walls and on top of the ceilings, and what he saw was something he couldn't quite expect. It was a huge room, a size of one of the rooms in a large manor of some sorts; there was a second floor, stacked with book shelves. Part of the second floor was destroyed and most of the book shelves had been turned over, and in the light, there was something strange about this room.

There seemed to be another room in the bottom floor, something he would explore later as he walked towards one of the shattered tables.

Naruto noticed something strange about the whole room; he crouched to the floor, placing his hand on the dark table that was split in half. When his hand touched it, it turned into dust, something that surprised Naruto as it left dark marks on his finger tips.

His nose twitched, 'this smell,' he thought while placing the dark mark towards his nose. A sniff again before he tilted his head in thought, 'it smells like…' his eyes widened before he turned around and quickly took a running start.

He jumped into the fallen sector of the second floor before kicking off and landing in one of the stable sections of the 2nd floor. He picked up a book, old and dark as well before he turned the pages.

"Ash," he threw the unreadable book to the sides, "it's all burnt," his eyes scanned the whole area while his mind tried to figure out what happened.

His hands felt the destroyed wooden railing, and with his eyes, he saw the damage. There were marks all over the walls and as he observed closer, there were pieces of rusted senbons and kunais. He looked at his hand again; it was dark, filled with ash from all around this place.

In his mind, it was clear that there was some sort of battle, and it looked to be a fierce battle, but Naruto had to wonder, who was fighting. 'What's…' Naruto peered closer into his hands. There were small pieces of metal, very small and it appeared rusted. It seemed to be mixed with the wood, but mostly in the outside and Naruto wondered if that had any significance.

Curious, his curiosity urged him to continue exploring as he hopped down the second floor and started heading towards that other room he had found. It didn't take long; there was an entrance to the room with the door already destroyed. When he entered, he was a bit disappointed to find a small room, but the room was burnt, scorched actually, and he soon figured that the flames may have originated from this room.

'Let's see,' Naruto rubbed at his chin while one of his hands leaned on his side, 'burnt markings, destruction, maybe a battle with the winner destroying this place.'

Naruto observed the room; there were small pieces around the room, something he couldn't identify. He let out a loud sigh before scratching his head, "that's all in the past, no use trying to figure it out," he spoke out, a bit disappointed before leaning against the wall with his mind still pondering. He knew there was a battle and the winner must have wanted to destroy this place for some reason but the oddest thing was he couldn't find a corpse anywhere, maybe a bone corpse or something probably mummified but none.

When he moved from the wall, he saw the dark smudge mark on his clothes before he looked back to the wall and spotted the area he must have wiped out. He let out disapproving noise before he froze. His eyes spotted something in the wall, something that was unclear before he headed towards it and started wiping.

He made sure to wipe at the wall, only the parts that seemed connected. There were strange lines in the stone walls, pieces in the brick that he didn't really see until he wiped at it and the dark charcoal from the burns outlined it. The charcoal stains stuck to his clothes as he wiped at the surface, wiping away until he felt it was done. Backing up slowly, he glanced at the wall to find a giant seal only with the help of the charcoal that outlined it.

'Open?' Naruto thought before he stared at his now dark hands and planted them firmly into the wall.

Chakra seeped through him, pouring into the wall until it had the effect he wanted. The seal glowed with power as Naruto backed away. It departed in the middle with dust and sandy debris from atop falling to the ground until a hidden path was revealed. Light glowed along the walls that lit the path ahead.

Naruto felt an exciting feeling as he entered the path and followed it lower to the chambers. His foot crept with anticipation until he reached the bottom.

It was a small room, like a work study and Naruto spotted a desk in the far end while other objects of antiquity filled the room. He walked through the area, taking a glimpse on few of the items. It seemed that whoever owned the room liked to collect regular objects that were nothing out of the ordinary. The blonde did peer on one of the window glass object; it was a large one with dust covering the glass so he wiped it off before spotting a Kage style robe with the sand symbol on it and the number three. He read the description.

'_It was made with love for me by Haibara. I will cherish it forever…'_

It was then Naruto realized what this place was, the stories he had heard, and now the Kazekage robe proved it…this was the cavern that belonged to the Sandaime Kazekage.

Naruto turned to the desk at the far end before quickly moving through the glassed items until he reached the area. What he found was a huge tome, a book buckled in the front by a belt buckle. His eyes glanced around the area; this was the only item on the desk as he slowly picked it up.

With his breath, he briefly blew the dust and small sands on top of the book before reading the title.

'_Field work and research,' _signed, _'Kazekage the Third'_

A wide smiled appeared on Naruto's face, he wanted to read the large tome there and then but he didn't have the time or the moment when he felt something off. He didn't know what but he quickly sealed the giant tome into one of his seals before he felt a small tremor which caused the sand from the ceiling to slowly started falling. It shook again, shaking the entire complex until it turned into an earthquake with the items and object falling to the ground.

'What's going on!' Naruto thought frantically as he placed a hand on the wall for support. The room rocked again and to Naruto's horror, he watched as part of the ceiling collapsed, sending huge amounts of sand pouring down into the already tiny room.

Naruto quickly concentrated on his chakra, searching for the rite he had placed before getting sucked into the area all the while being bombarded by sand that was dragging him to his grave. He grunted as the sand churned with him in it until he felt the connection and activated the flash technique.

Soon, he appeared in the in the air, with a flash of light before falling down to the sandy ground. His hand felt around before lifting up the kunai he had thrown before being sucked in then placed the kunai into his pouch while sitting up and getting his bearings straight. He wondered what had caused that brief tremor and he had thought up of a few plausible reasons such as his touching did more to unstable the cavern or the secret path he had unlocked must have caused the ground on top to collapse. Whatever the cause, he was happy to have gotten out of there alive, and with something important which was a plus.

When he stood up, he soon stretched before leaving with a running start ahead to his path, but as he travelled farther up, he felt something again, something off as he stopped and glanced around the horizon. There was something that he soon realized was a chakra spike, and a small one.

Sensing again, he found the area he was sure the chakra signal came from before he ran towards it with his mind ever curious to what it could be out here in the desert.

When he came closer to the source, he could feel the chakra disappearing, like it was fading away. The closer he got, the harder the ground became and since it was the desert, it was hard to imagine what could have caused it. Then he spotted it, there was a large crater in the ground with the source of the chakra in the center of it. He quickly ran towards it before standing on the ledge until he spotted what was the cause.

With his eyes widening, he was shocked to find three bodies, their clothes were torn as if they were in a battle before he jumped down in the side of the crater and started sliding down with the sand.

Naruto briefly went to each one but a frown appeared when he felt for a pulse in the first two, there were none.

He went to the last one, this one looked different, he wasn't sure how he knew, but he must have been important as he felt for a pulse.

'There it is,' Naruto thought hopefully before he scanned the body. There were burnt marks, scars all over this person's body and what he perceived as a stab wound located under his left chest area.

Naruto only had little experience with treating a wound, sure he had read some but the practice he had were with animals, not with real humans. So he tried the best he could, using a low level healing technique he had learned in his father's manor back in the Leaf village, closing what few wounds he could but the rest he knew would require serious medical treatment.

When the blonde started bandaging a few areas with the torn fragments of his clothes, he was startled when the man's hand had grabbed hold of his wrist. Naruto took it calmly and placed it to the injured man's side before speaking in a reassuring manner, "don't worry, I won't let you die here, just let me help you."

"Y-young man," he coughed up blood as Naruto started to grow more concerned, he knew this man didn't have much time left especially with all the internal injuries.

The child wiped the blood, "please, don't talk, it'll only make it worse."

He received a nod of confirmation before watching as the man's eyes slowly closed.

"W-who, are you?"

Before Naruto could answer, the man had passed out. Naruto knew he had to hurry; he quickly formed a cross shaped hand seal and summoned several clones. His hand summoned several kunais with rites on them before tossing them to each clone.

"Hurry, make a path to connect to the village, then I can bring him to the hospital!"

He pointed out as the clones nodded and ran as fast as they could, using the kunai as a focus and throwing them forward before disappearing.

Naruto placed one hand on the injured man's chest before concentrating on the first connection. He activated the technique and disappeared with him…

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You know what, screw it, I'll finish when I finish


	6. A Sand covered Leaf:Festival of Mystery

Ch 6

**Note: about this fan fiction**, warning, there will be a lot of OCs appearing around Naruto's travels, if you want a fan fic that deals with only the original characters then, this is not a fan fic for you. This fanfic mostly deals with Naruto's journey with some special anime guests appearing and interactions with non-main characters but eventually, the Konoha ninjas will become part of the main story line...eventually.

Ok also, fortunately (or unfortunately), **Naruto Reborn: Sasuke Uchiha** won the polls, so I will spend most of my time I do have to work on that particular fic after this update.

**Well, not much action in this chapter, still, hope you enjoy it**

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'_When I watched the sand, I knew it was a beautiful weapon, deadly and, able to form into any shape or size with the will of the user. It was the way she used it, I couldn't help myself but stare and think that maybe this technique will connect us together, her sands and my iron…Haibara, the demon host of Shukaku, I dedicate my iron sands to you...'_

"Are you sure it's human?!"

"Of course, it has to be a human body, just look at it, what did the scroll say?"

"I don't know, ask the Naruto reading the scroll on this doll."

"Well all I have is the schematics," there was a scraping noise, "help me get this open, it's supposed to be the tube that holds the senbons."

"What's this wire in the back for?"

"I dunno, let me check the schematics…"

One of Naruto's eyes twitched at the conversations as he turned around from his spot in the kitchen table. He spotted several of his clones, each one pondering on how the doll, which now sat in the corner of the room next to his bed, worked. One Naruto was on the bed, reading a scroll for that doll while another had a scroll containing detailed outlines to the doll.

It surprised Naruto when he had opened the large tome, in the beginning of the page there was a seal containing that doll that he had suspected was a puppet that most puppet users use. There was something written on the bottom of the seal though.

'_Unforgivable'_

It was weird, the further he read from the text, the more information he had obtained from the past Kazekage. The Kazekage was slowly becoming suspicious of his apprentice, he was sure the apprentice was going to kill him and Naruto guessed that was what happened back in the cavern he had gotten into.

Now as he continued to read from the text, he found something on the iron sand technique.

'_My apprentice has been trying to copy my technique without having a blood limit as I do, even as impossible as it seems, he is close to figuring out an alternative. I only fear what would happen if he did figure it out, what would he do with that knowledge?'_

Naruto had to ponder as he read on the description of the sand technique and this lady that the Kazekage keeps speaking of, Haibara. Like how the text had said, she must have been the demon host before Gaara, sometime during the Sandaime Kazekage's time and by the looks of it; it seems as if the great sand leader had fallen in love with the past demon host.

Naruto flipped the page before tilting his head curiously, he found another seal, and below he read the text.

'_I've manage to steal the notes of my apprentice for the alternative iron sand technique. He may be furious with me but I will not allow him to learn it, not until I fully trust him.'_

Naruto soon activated the seal and with a puff of smoke, another book appeared, this one had papers sticking out as Naruto caught the tome and summoned another clone. He directed the clone to read and take notes on it so he would read it later.

He turned back to the giant text book, it was interesting reading on the travels of the third Kazekage, and Naruto learned a few things about the landscapes back in the Sandaime's time before the war started. He skimmed through a few pages until something perked his interest.

'The metal properties, theories of metal and its powers,' Naruto read the text watching as an arrow drew from the page to the side. He had to tilt it slightly to read it straight, 'Craftsman's village?' He wasn't too sure about it as he decided to read up on this himself.

"Naruto"

The said person turned around, watching as the clone of himself, the one reading the scroll on the doll over there took a seat next to him and placed the scroll on top of the table.

"We managed to find several things about the doll. It was made by someone called Sasori with the help of someone named Chiyo?"

Naruto nodded, "I think Sasori was the apprentice, but who is Chiyo?"

The clone shook his head, "I'm not sure but the Sandaime seems to be shocked as well that Sasori was able to convince this Chiyo to help. Anyways," the clone took out a sheet of paper, giving it to Naruto who looked at it curiously, "In that list are deployable weapons that the puppet can use, and also, it contains the ingredients to the antidote and to the poison listed in the scroll."

"I don't want to be equipping the doll yet, I mean, I don't even know how to use a puppet, and the poison well," Naruto seemed uncomfortable; "I don't think I want to make it, at least, not now."

"I know," the clone smirked, "just letting you know."

"So, what else have you figured out about the puppet?" Naruto asked while placing the list of items away.

"This type of puppet is a human puppet, or a puppet made by a dead human body."

At that they both shuttered at the statement.

"One of the clones discovered writings behind one of the arms, it says, _'a new body for you Chiyo'_ but we are unsure what that means," the clone scratched his head in thought, "well the technique it seemed that this Sasori and Chiyo were working on was a technique that brought a puppet to life, but the technique wasn't written on the scroll."

"Bringing a puppet to life, that seems impossible," Naruto spoke out in surprise with the clone nodding, "what about his doll, who was the human?"

The clone didn't know as he shook his head, "what we do know is that it appears to be a grown female woman, we had one clone fix her up but it appears that a few of her human essentials are still freshly done."

"W-what?" Naruto twitched, unsure what he should feel about that.

The clone pointed at the doll as they watched as the clones had opened up a few levers and gadgets in the puppet.

"She has red long hair, her body is just a hollow human body with wood that outlines the interior, there is black paint surrounding the eyes, we aren't sure what that signifies, and her eyes themselves seemed to have dried, it is hard and it looks real but we aren't sure if it is a real eye or some unknown material. Oh, one more thing, with this human body it seems that she could possibly use chakra," the clone rolled the scroll out before pointing at a symbol, "in the schematics, there was a device attached to the supposedly heart of the doll, we aren't sure what it does but it has something to do with the mind and spirit as the kanji perceives it to be."

"A kanji for mind and spirit, the doll with words _'a new body for you Chiyo,'_ and a technique that supposedly brings a puppet to life," Naruto spoke to himself but the clone was nodding his head as well, "what could this mean?"

They couldn't think of an answer as Naruto directed the clone to see if he had missed anything.

With the clone going back to the bed to study the scroll, Naruto briefly glanced at his other clone sitting in the table who was furiously scribbling down on a paper while taking a look on the alternative metal sand technique text. It seems things were getting exciting on that table and Naruto was equally getting excited as well before he flipped back to the 'Craft man's village' section he was in.

'_Objects sometimes contain power, depending on the type of object; this power can be infused into metal. Most rocks and minerals can be broken down through melting without losing its power but items such as diamonds, pearls, and substances of the likes, they can only store energy, making it useless if it is melted down but there are those rocks that contain power, even if they are shattered, that still have energy with the release of chakra into them. Those rocks can be destroyed through melting but not through shattering and combine that into a sword or a halberd or any weapon, then you would get something extraordinary…'_

There was more to the page but Naruto had to take a break, through the next set of pages, Naruto could skim through and find techniques for combining seals to a sword or melting which properties of metal to make a sturdier ones or, one that interested him the most, making weapons that could control elements or focus the power of energy hidden in stones. It was all blacksmithing and Naruto had no skill in that, which made him wonder when he should start learning about it.

His hand pulled the small bag laying on top of the table before he opened it and took out a tiny pouch. His fingers slipped inside before pulling out a small green gemstone of some kind, the stone he had received from Kyuubi the other night.

"I wonder what this is." Naruto stared at the green stone for a full minute until he remembered what the text said. He concentrated his will into the stone until he felt something twitch in his chakra. The stone glowed brightly, surprising Naruto as the clones in the room stopped what they were doing and watched their master.

Soon, green wisps of energy filled Naruto who stood disbelievingly at the outcome. He concentrated as the energy seeped into his body until he lifted his hand up and with his chakra; he created a bright greenish blue ball of energy, spinning rapidly in place, the rasengan.

"I feel, powerful," Naruto smiled wide, along with the other clones before Naruto cancelled the technique and stared at the stone again, whatever this stone was it gave off energy.

Naruto placed the stone inside the small pouch again before summoning another clone. He activated the seals in his arms, making all his research notes collected appear on top of the table.

"Reseal them together into one scroll, when I return, I'll place a blood seal into it," Naruto directed as the clone nodded and Naruto left to get his cloak.

"If you're going out, I need you to get something."

Naruto turned to the side, spotting the clone he had made to read up on the alternative iron sand technique.

The clone stood up before heading towards Naruto, "I need you to get earrings."

That earned blank stares from all the clones around them as one actually let out a snicker.

"Earrings, seriously?"

"Yes, yes, nothing too girlish, just short metallic earrings and if possible, have them be made out of pure silver…or gold, whatever the case as long as it can conduct lightning."

One of Naruto's eyes twitched before he headed towards the table with the iron sand text on top with the clone following, "ok, explain."

The clone nodded before going into detail, "the apprentice's theory is to use the elemental combination of lightning and earth to form a magnetic field. The earrings will be a focus so you can easily direct the magnetic field to your advantage; we need the earrings to control the levels of electricity with this technique."

The clone pointed at the technique on the text as Naruto read, _'lightning stasis technique'_

"That technique combined with the earth element to surround the metal around the earrings, you will be able to focus a similar magnetic control like the Sandaime was able to do."

"I see," Naruto nodded, understanding the elemental manipulation of earth and lightning, a very unlikely combo, needed for the technique to work.

"There is a downfall to the technique though; the magnetic field loses its pull when spread out too far."

Naruto tilted his head curiously before asking, "how far?"

"The technique should be the strongest when it is closer to your body; the magnetic pull tightens the metal making it almost indestructible but farther out, it loses this indestructibility. The apprentice writes that it should be at least twenty to twenty five feet until it loses its pull."

Naruto frowned at the distance, that was alright but still, it was a bit short, "alright, earrings, specifically silver ones," he sighed, that sounded a bit expensive especially since its silver and he didn't even want to think of the cost for gold, "is that all?"

"Well it would help if you get some iron sand…small shredded pieces of iron."

Naruto nodded, "alright then," he noticed the look he was receiving from the clone on his bed before he addressed him, "and I am not buying weapons for the puppet yet, not until we get more info."

The clone nodded, maybe a bit disappointed as Naruto soon departed from the apartment, out to check what the village was doing…

…**Suna Hospital…**

The room was white with men and woman frantically shuffling around for the man that rested on the bed. He was received late last night by a boy and in critical condition, but to everyone's surprise and shock, it was their leader, the Kazekage.

They needed this information to lie low but the Suna council had already been informed and guards were set up around the room with doctors and nurses working around the clock to save their leader.

Groggy, his body pained, but he forced his eyes to slowly open. He let out a grunt which caught the attention of the nearby doctor.

"My Lord," the man dressed in white spoke out concerned before signaling the others around the room. They all stood near the pained leader.

"S-set me up"

The Kazekage struggled to sit as the medical ninja shook his head, "I'm sorry my Lord but that is ill advisable, you need to rest."

"Lift me up now," he ordered in a firmer voice as the others flinched at the command.

One of the guards went to their leader's side and helped the medical ninja set their leader up.

He had winced in pain but he felt that he was alright; he didn't, or shouldn't appear weak in front of his people, "have the council informed that we are in red alert with Sound village. Everything in this hospital about me should be kept an A ranked secret; we have a traitor and a fake among us."

The guard nodded before heading out of the room to fulfill the order. The Kazekage turned to the medical nin, "how much longer until I leave this place."

"Let's see my Lord," the medical doctor in charge signaled to one of the nurses who got the idea and took a chart from the table before giving it to the doctor.

The medical doctor read through the reports in his mind before speaking, "we worked on you ever since you have arrived, there was poison in your blood which we removed, we have already stopped the internal bleedings, and restored your damage cells, but you still need to rest."

"How many days" the Kazekage spoke again in a strict voice making the doctor flinch.

"Five to six days of resting to say the least, Lord Kazekage."

It seemed their leader was dissatisfied and they could tell with the frown on his face, "you have two more days until I leave, understood?"

"But sir…"

"No, I will not let this crime go unpunished!" their leader had practically shouted, scaring those in the room, "two days, understood."

"Y-yes sir."

The Kazekage closed his eyes again, remembering that battle, and who it was…the snake sannin.

A blonde boy appeared in his mind, the boy who had saved his life. He snapped his eyes open before speaking, "who brought me here?"

The inhabitants stared at each other for a moment, unsure how to answer it until one of the nurses walked forward with her hand up, "Lord Kazekage, I remember it was a blonde boy, around the academy's age. He was the one who brought you to us," she thought back about last night, "he just appeared out of nowhere and said that you were on the verge of dying," she bowed briefly, "my Lord that is all I know."

"Is he a ninja?"

The nurse nodded, "I believe so, because while we were helping you, we noticed he had healed you a little. We know he used a healing technique because most of your wounds were already closed up which can only be done with a cell rejuvenating technique, but still, the boy seems to be a beginner."

"I see," the Kazekage dismissed them all before resting on his bed again, 'I owe this boy my life,' he stared up at the ceiling while he laid down on his bed to rest. He would find the boy since it went against his honor if he didn't reward whoever had saved his life…

…**Scene Change…**

The village was filled with decorations, most of them autumn colors mixed with the sandy brown settings which gave it an even more arid look. Naruto had observed the busy villagers and ninjas, each of them happily helping each other for tonight, and if he concentrated on the smell, he could already find the fresh smell of food being prepared.

But as good as all this seems, even as it brought a brief sensation of happiness to the blonde, something disturbed him. It was the man he had found in the desert late last night, if he remembered correctly, his wounds, and the settings all pointed to a battle, but he never did find out who this man was, especially since it would attract a few unwanted attention to him, like questions of, 'how did you happen across this man in the desert… where no one would normally go… late at night…. alone…and stuff like that… as if it wouldn't raise anymore suspicions.

Naruto had a look of concentration on his face as his body moved automatically through the bustling village, his mind continued to ponder on this mysterious incident.

'First possibility, bandits'

But they looked like ninjas, they could never be beaten by regular bandits, plus with three ninjas, there would surely be dead bandit bodies: first idea, scratched.

'Second possibility, a ninja attack, possibly, an enemy ninja of the village'

It is possible, a lot of ninja villages hold grudges against each other, attacking some ninjas out of a grudge was not unheard of.

'Third possibility,' this one made Naruto wince, it was something he didn't want to think of, 'Gaara.'

He shook his head, pausing in his steps as he scratched at his head in irritation, 'no, the attacks looked to be made by a blade. The cuts were smooth, not rugged,' rugged, like he expected Gaara's attacks would be if it was made out of sand.

That left the second possibility open, but more questions arose, like who would do it, and why so close to this ninja village unless those three had caught these ninjas doing something that threatened this village…

Naruto pondered for just a little moment until he felt a tap on his shoulder. His thoughts were shaken as he gazed down on someone he wasn't sure he had met before.

She was about his height, maybe a little shorter with dark orange hair and soft creamy skin. She wore the nomadic clothing styles that he was used to seeing the villagers wear but the higher than standard built on her told him that she was a ninja and not a regular village girl, yet still, Naruto wondered if he had seen her before.

"Can I help you?" He asked while watching as she didn't even look at him.

Her head was turned to the sides with her eyes taking quick glances at him, like she was nervous of some sort.

"N-Nejiri-senpai (I don't know how to translate senpai) said that Mr. Naruto i-isn't going to the festival tonight w-with anyone."

She stumbled when she talked, nervous to the core as a favorable rose colored blush appeared on her cheek while she attempted a glance at the blonde only to turn away again.

A vein seemed to suddenly throb on Naruto's forehead as he closed his eyes and formed a fist, "that damned Nejiri," he whispered before opening his eyes again, "does he really think that me going alone is bad…"

"I-if Mr. Naruto w-would like, u-um, I-I," Naruto watched her gulp before he sighed and placed on a calming smile.

When his hand touched her shoulder, her cheeks seemed to flare with her body stiffening.

"I don't know what rumors that idiot is spreading about me but I am fine for tonight," her shoulder slouched as Naruto had to wonder about her, "who are you anyways?"

"O-oh, um-m," she seemed even more nervous, "my name is Kimi, it's nice to finally meet you."

She bowed her head; it was so formal that Naruto had to blush out of embarrassment since there were people watching all around them in this public place.

He grabbed her hand, surprising the girl as he led her forward, "geez don't be so formal," he briefly turned back and glanced at her as she nodded in embarrassment. Naruto shook his head before asking, "So, how do you know me?"

The blonde released her hand and expected her to continue following him. He didn't face her, which helped the girl Kimi who regained her bearings and stared at the back of his head as they walked.

"A lot of the people talk about you in the academy," it seemed the girl Kimi was out of her stuttering nervousness, "and a lot of people saw your match with an older student, with rumors that you had also beaten his friends."

'Interesting rumors,' Naruto briefly glanced at her before falling in step beside her, "well Kimi, I am always up for making new friends but what was that about," he pointed back behind him as she got the hint with a fresh new blush appearing on her cheeks.

"O-oh um," she was embarrassed and Naruto could tell. She avoided his eyes like the plague, something that Naruto had to find patience in since she was taking long to answer.

"Nejiri-senpai said that Mr. Naruto was going to be alone for the festival tonight," she shook her head before bowing her head once again, "s-so, I t-thought maybe I c-could go w-with Mr. Naruto tonight so he won't be alone...if he wants."

Her face was flushing when she had stopped walking and continued bowing her head again so formal in the crowd, he had to stop and stare at her as well. There was one thing he couldn't figure out, something about why this girl was asking to go with him to the festival even though he knew they would probably see each other there anyways.

"But you don't know anything about me," Naruto said as he took her hand again and signaled her to stand up. She continued to blush furiously with her eyes glancing away from the blonde; he released her hand, "why would you want to go with me?"

"Well," she was smiling with her hands covering the side of her mouth and her eyes darting back and forth, to Naruto and back to the ground.

'What is wrong with her?' Naruto twitched as he felt unsure what to think of this new comer.

He watched as she calmly sucked in the air around her before turning around. She placed her hands behind her back with her left hand rubbing her right arm, while she nervously smudged the ground she was stepping on with her sandals.

"Mr. Naruto is already an inspiration in the academy," she glanced at him, watching a surprise expression appear on Naruto's face, "you don't go to the ninja academy and yet everyone is sure you don't belong to any village. There are so many rumors about you Naruto, all of them inspiring, it shows every student what a ninja needs to be."

A new blush of embarrassment had grown on Naruto's cheeks for he hadn't known any of this. Have the rumors really circulated this much and what kind of rumors were they?

"You are very brave Mr. Naruto," she turned around again as Naruto got a glimpse of her facial expression. It was bright, her eyes were dark brown that stared at him with some sort of shining intensity, something he still couldn't understand, "hearing that Mr. Naruto, who has already done a lot for all of us, is going alone to the festival doesn't sound fair, so I thought, w-well," she blushed again before turning away, leaving Naruto to only smile in gratitude before shaking his head.

"Thank you, Kimi," he spoke to her, watching as a bright smile appeared on her face when he had said her name, "maybe I'll see you tonight then, alright?"

She seemed a little put out but never the less, she continued to smile at him as she nodded. Naruto remembered that he still needed to find certain items so he had to ask, "Hey, you think you can give me directions to the nearest black smith?"

Her head nodded again, maybe glad to be of help as Naruto had to grin.

In this village, he was already making a name for himself; he just didn't know it…

…**Suna Hopsital…**

The settings of the hospital were too bright and yet dull. How could he find rest here, he never did find comfort in hospitals, and yet with what has been going on, how could he waste time here, rotting away happily in such a dread full room.

"Hospitals are a sad thing, white in pureness but filled with the injured and death," the Kazekage twitched his eyes, still unable to fall asleep as he rubbed his aggravated old face, "why does this irritate me so."

He didn't receive a respond, not even from the guard that sat nearby outside the curtains to his room before he noticed some people had entered. He saw two shadow figures behind the curtains, talking to his guard. He recognized the voices before sitting up against his bed while the curtains opened and they entered.

"Lord Kazekage," they both spoke in unison, bowing in respect before continuing.

It was the girl who spoke while the dark hooded boy watched.

"Are you alright, sir?"

The Kazekage waved it off before staring at the two people in front of him, both of them blood related to him, and both of them his children.

"Temari, Kankurou, I have a mission for you."

They straightened up with their hands falling to their sides as they waited for the order. Whatever emotion they had, the Kazekage couldn't tell, but it didn't matter as he spoke.

"I need you to find someone for me."

He knew they had gotten the wrong idea when he saw his eldest son smirk and shook in anticipation. There was nothing sad at how he raised his kids; they were born to be efficient, to be the elites of this village. He made sure he was kept up to date with their training, especially by the jounin he had assigned to them. He remembered reading the reports about Temari and Kankurou, how his daughter Temari was the most critical thinker and much more mature one. His eldest son on the other hand, he has his talents, strong, advanced, but then he remembered the reports saying that he may be a bit over confident and lacking a few things that his sister Temari has in terms of observations and otherwise.

"Really Kankurou, you think I would entrust you to find my attackers?" the leader of the sand narrowed his eyes at the boy, watching as the boy flinched and turned away.

Temari scowled at her brother for a brief moment before asking, "My Lord, what is this mission?"

"My mission for you is very simple; I need you to find the person who saved my life."

The task surprised the both of them, being sent on such a mission, it felt as if it was a waste of their time, but it was from the Kazekage, it was from their father.

But of course when they mean father, it must have still meant the same as the Leader of Suna, because other than the fact they had special training, it would surely be the day when they would actually act like a family.

"Um," Kankurou was the first to respond but the look on the Kazekage's eyes forced him to be quiet.

"He should be around the academy's age, and from what I have gathered, he should be at least as tall as you both, and his hair is almost like your hair Temari, it is blonde but brighter," The Kazekage paused for a moment, trying to replay the image he saw that night, "this mission is suited for you for more of the obvious reasons," he dismissed them with his hands, "now go."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage," they chorused with a bow before leaving the room.

They were silent a few steps of the way until they left the room, Kankurou spoke.

"A mission like this," he sighed out in annoyance, "really now."

Anyone could see he was disappointed with the mission and Temari couldn't blame him, especially since they were mostly trained for battle.

But there was one thing that stuck out to Temari, when their father had mentioned that the boy was around the academy's age with supposedly bright blonde hair. The information said that he was around the academy's age and it wasn't confirmed if the boy did attend the academy, and if this mysterious boy was able to carry the Kazekage all the way to the hospital, then it wasn't a normal boy from the village.

Just that information, blonde hair, chakra user, doesn't seem to attend the academy, and not really an enemy ninja, she was sure of, it pointed to one person in which Temari had to smirk before shaking her head.

"Eh, Temari?" her brother stared at her curiously, "what are you thinking of?"

She glanced at him with her mind already taking a guess at who it could be, but still, they would check other sources just in case. She spoke, "brother, check the academy for anyone matching the description, I'll meet up with you after I gather more information from the hospital."

Kankurou nodded his head with an un-too excitable look, "still, this is a waste of my time though."

She watched as her brother started leaving as a frown appeared on her face, she still couldn't help but say it.

"He is still our father, remember that brother."

The puppeteer paused in his steps, his body stiffened as he glanced her way, "yeah," he frowned as well before walking away, "I know sis" he waved a back handed wave before finally leaving Temari to handle the hospital side.

She frowned again, her eyes closing for a brief second before she started walking off, 'and Gaara is still our brother,' she thought the last part in her head before heading to the nearest nurse to get some answers…

…**Scene Change…**

**Naruto **had departed from the kind girl Kimi with directions to the black smith. It was interesting though, on his way towards the black smith, he was asked out to the festival by a few more people, something he was finding annoyed of. Anyways, he now appeared inside the black smith but when he had entered, it seemed empty; nothing was on sale or out on display which could mean that this place was closed down for today but he did manage to find the smith before he had asked for a certain item.

"You want iron cut in tiny pieces?" the smith had spoken, confused at that kind of order.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "it has to be very small that it blends together and looks just like a pile of black sand."

"Black sand?"

The smith was an old bald headed man who still seemed sprite enough to work, he was giant like most black smiths usually were and Naruto suspected that the baldness came from being around the forge of fire too long…

'Maybe I should re-think this whole forging thing…' the blonde thought while rubbing his hair in a concerned manner.

"Black sand huh," the smith asked again with a facial expression that was surprised at the order, "I haven't had an order like that in years."

The large man stared down at the boy, his gaze penetrating as he remembered the order, 'the iron sands, it couldn't be.'

"And what is this for, exactly?"

Naruto laughed awkwardly before coming up with something, "um…for… decorations," he nodded, "yeah, I need it to complete a project of mine."

The smith's shoulders seemed to relax before he let out a deep chuckle, "of course, a project," he laughed before waving it off, "sure I do have some scraps of iron I collect after I make a few weapons. It's used for melting, anyways, how much you need?"

"Two jars full."

"T-two jars!?" the smith appeared surprised at that amount, wondering what kind of project it could be, "why do you need so much?"

Naruto smiled again, "just a precaution."

The giant of a man laughed again, "alright, alright," he started heading towards the back of his shop but stopped at the doorway, "I'll give it to you for free."

The blonde couldn't believe his luck at the generosity of the man, he had to ask, "Really, but why?"

A regrettable look appeared on the man's face as he stared up in the ceiling, "you just reminded me of someone really powerful. Now at these times, youngsters like you have forgotten about the legends, but when you have lived around their time, you would know why they would be called legends."

"Legends?" Naruto questioned curiously as the smith waved it of before heading towards the back. It seemed he wouldn't be getting anymore answers but he was still thankful he wouldn't have to pay for it, but then the next item was going to be tough…where would he get silver or gold earrings?

The light behind him widened, casting his shadow ahead of him before dimming once again. It signaled that someone had walked inside the shop in which Naruto soon turned around to glance at the new figure.

He blinked his eyes for a minute, along with the girl as they stared at each other.

"Oh, Naruto?"

She seemed differently dressed, especially with that dark red bandana covering her whole hair while the sleeveless shirt and short brown pants seemed just the right size. He was familiar with her since she was one of Mikoshi's friends in which he had befriended as well.

"Nari," Naruto greeted, watching as she smiled and walked right up to him, "you don't usually wear bandanas," he pointed out which earned a little smirk from the girl.

"I just don't wear it much but today is different, I have a lot of stuff to do for tonight," she gave a curious look his way, "what are you doing here?"

Before he could explain, the large smith's man appeared from behind the counter, carrying two large jars in each hand which were filled with black sandy material.

"Here yah go boy," he placed the jars on the table, emitting a large thumb from the wooden counter, "now carrying it home, meh, that might be tough on you."

It earned a shrug from the blonde who calmly slipped his hand behind his waste into a pouch, took out a scroll before he laid it open on the table. There was a symbol on it as Naruto concentrated and soon made the two jars disappear in a puff of smoke.

The large man only shook his head before chuckling, "so you are a ninja, thought so," he finally noticed the girl before speaking, "oh, your order should be here," he went underneath the counter in search for something as Nari stared at Naruto for a moment.

"Wow Naruto, you think you can teach me that?" she asked with hopeful eyes as Naruto appeared surprised at the question.

"They didn't teach you it at the academy yet?"

She shook her head, "we'll be learning it next year and I think Nejiri's class is learning it now, but still, that is a very useful move."

The smith soon placed the order on top of the counter; it appeared to be a metal basket holding several few large ornaments made out of metal. Naruto watched curiously as Nari soon paid for the items and made an attempt to move them.

"Be careful now, those can be a bit heavy."

She nodded before lifting it slightly off the counter. It took a few moments until Naruto finally decided to help out by grabbing the handle as well.

"I'll help you bring it home," was his reply as the girl offered a grateful smile before they both left the shop.

It felt weird for both of them since they didn't really talk much, maybe just a hello, how was your day, and normal stuff like that but he didn't remember being able to talk to her as much as he did with Nejiri, Matsuri, or…Mikoshi

"We don't talk much now, do we?"

Naruto was taken off of his thoughts as he saw the awkward look on Nari's light-ish brown face.

And it seemed to Naruto that he wasn't the only one who noticed about their talking habits.

"Say Nari, can you tell me the rumors you've heard about me in the academy…"

Naruto turned away when he asked but Nari was staring at him in surprise before she had a wide smile on her face.

With her head shaking, she seemed almost giddy, "well it was only a matter of time until you heard them."

He faced her, wondering what those rumors could be. She stared the path ahead, her facial expression still joyful as she continued speaking.

"I am sure you already know that rumors would spread about your fight against Komaza, especially since a lot of people witnessed it," she glanced at him, watching as he continued to stare at her but nodded in affirmation, "well, it seems that there was more to the story. We were told that you saved a girl's life from Gaara that day, just appearing like how a hero would before facing an enemy head on, and not only that, we also heard how you took out Komaza's goons, all by yourself," she smiled again before facing Naruto, "now that is something that people cannot ignore, especially dealing with Gaara."

Naruto felt uncomfortable with that info; he wondered how they knew about that, the only ones who would know were…

"By now I am guessing you know who started these rumors," she giggled as she saw Naruto sigh in irritation with his cheeks slightly puffed, as if holding back his tongue from saying something.

"Those guys…" he said instead in a slightly lower voice.

She nodded, "Matsuri and Nejiri have been spreading it but the goons you faced confirmed it, but there is one rumor that bugs me," she had to stare at Naruto before asking; "Did you really fight Gaara?"

His facial expression turned passive, deciding how he should answer it as he continued to walk, with her leading, but she just continued to watch him, waiting for an answer.

"You did, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah," Naruto responded, not really wanting to talk about it.

She seemed even more excited, "amazing," she said before pointing forward, "My house should be at the center between those two buildings.

His gaze reached into the buildings, watching how they were all connected sand buildings, but he could tell that some of them had more than two floors. They may have been connected but they were built up, so the space would be above and not on ground floor.

"You know the rumors don't stop there right?" she spoke again, catching a surprised expression from Naruto who could only look at her in an enquiring manner which allowed her to continue, "there are stories about how you got to this village, how you became a body guard for a caravan from vegetable country and how you had saved many lives in a bandit attack."

"Um," Naruto was now embarrassed and shocked that that kind of rumors would spread around the academy, but now he had to wonder is, how did that rumor in particular circulate.

"It was from and confirmed by the people from vegetable country Naruto, a few had gone asking about you and they brought back this story," she smiled with her eyes staring at Naruto with something akin to amazement, "so can you really blame some of the other academy students for admiring you, I mean, you are still young, the academy age and you already experienced such a thing, it is remarkable to think about it really," she finished before turning to stare at their path again.

Now the blonde was getting an idea at how much popular he was becoming, and he would ponder if this was going to get him noticed by a few unwanted people.

It was only a few more steps when they would make it to her home; Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

"Nari, do you know where I can get some earrings," the blonde said with a blush of embarrassment forming in his cheeks.

He watched as the girl blinked once as if acknowledging the question before her mouth quirked upwards and she cracked a smile, "excuse me?"

The tone of her question told Naruto that she was trying not to laugh.

"Nothing too feminine, I need silver or gold earrings, short and not hugely looped…"

This time, she let out a little laugh before answering, "so you want a new look, is that it? I never figured you would want earrings though…" she looked thoughtful which allowed Naruto some time to straighten his face.

"Well there is that one…"

He watched her lips quirk with her eyes watching him unsure, "I can provide you with pure silver ones."

"Really?" the blonde replied in surprise.

"Yeah," she nodded as they arrived at her home and she started opening the door to let him in "I'll show you."

They entered inside with Naruto holding onto the metal basket he was helping her bring in.

"I'm home," Nari spoke out as a voice replied.

"Welcome back."

There were stairs to the left of the doorway, leading upstairs while a hallway extended to the right. The hallway seemed to stretch to another part of the room, maybe the kitchen or something similar as Naruto thought he smelled something cooking.

A figure appeared, walking out of the one of the door way from the hallway. It was a tall slender woman, not too old but not young either. She had a soft smile that fit her tanned skin with her long brown curly hair falling to her sides. She smiled before her expression changed to one of brief surprise then to a knowing smirk.

"Oh, and who is this handsome young man," she stepped forward, wiping her hand on her apron that she wore before appearing before Naruto. She crouched briefly so she could take a good look at his face.

Naruto nodded with respect, "nice to meet you. My name is Naruto and I was just assisting Nari with her task."

The woman that Naruto had suspected was Nari's mother smiled even more before nodding and straightening up again, "nice to meet you too Naruto. You seem nice and very well mannered," she turned to her daughter with a brow raised, "little Nari never told me she had a boy friend."

"M-mother!" Nari blushed furiously, waving her arms around in front of her mom, "he's just a friend, how could you say that!?"Her mother continued to giggle as she watched her daughter rant.

Naruto had to chuckle as well as he watched the interaction, she was just being a mother but deep down inside, a part of him was jealous, he was always jealous when he watched other children return to their mothers, someone who would always worry for their child, to tease them, to take care of them, to make them feel loved. No, he had to stop thinking those thoughts, less he became emotional.

"Naruto?"

The blonde boy blinked before watching as the two ladies stared at him. He chuckled before staring at them in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, my mind was just distracted," he laughed humorously, earning a smile from the two ladies.

"Well, seems like you're beauty has bewitched him my dear, hohoho" Nari's mother had joked again, covering her mouth with her hand as her daughter started complaining once more.

"Anyways," she paid no mind to her daughter, "could you take that upstairs and place it on the table with the pot of flowers please," she instructed with a smile as Nari sighed and signaled Naruto to follow after her.

Naruto nodded, "yes ma'am, I will," with a brief bow, he started after Nari, up the stairs, leaving the woman to watch with a smile.

Following quietly behind Nari, he heard a few muttered curses which amused him before he followed her instructions and placed the metal basket on the table close to the stairs.

"Follow me and I'll show you the earrings," Nari instructed as she led the way forward.

The second floor of this house was spacey. There was a room door several steps in front of the stairs, a brief space afterwards towards the right with a table in the middle and then connecting to the sides, their where two more doors, each one closed and Naruto suspected one was Nari's room.

She led him to the room at the end before opening, and leaving the door opened for Naruto to walk inside.

The door was left open as Naruto examined the room. Comfy, not too small, and surprisingly, no dolls, or anything really girly as he suspected would be in a girl like Nari's room. It was brown walls, with a regular sleeping bed, drawers, one large cabinet, and a desk. He watched as the girl went to her desk before opening one drawer.

"My father gave me these as a gift but," she brought out a small box, those tiny boxes that usually stored small jewelry in them, "well here take a look for yourself."

She handed it to Naruto who opened it. He saw the perfect type of earrings, small short looped earrings. Not those long looped ones that most of the woman he's seen wore, but those that adventurers were used too. He wondered what was wrong with them, they were fine.

"They are too boyish for me to wear," he turned to her, watching as she smiled in humor, "it's a nice gift, but my father doesn't know about a girl's style."

"These are perfect Nari."

She nodded, "I can pierce them for you if you want, but you know I won't give these out for free," a sly smile was implanted on her face as she poked his chest with her right index finger, "I need something in return."

"Alright then," Naruto had a sly smile of his own as he leaned close, watching as it took the girl by surprise, "name it…"

…**Scene Change…**

"The puppet has circular shoulders, allowing free movement," It was a Naruto clone holding up a clipboard while check marking a few things, "the material seems sturdier."

"Maybe because it's dry human skin, ever think about that," one of the clones remarked from the side, earning a snicker from the rest of the clones who were observing the doll.

The clone with the clipboard scowled before writing something down again.

"How much time do we have anyways," a clone asked from behind the doll as a few others stopped to think.

"Well, aside from the clones researching the scroll over there and organizing the studies," the main clone sitting on top of the bed scratched his head before counting off, "the clones in charge of the puppet should have at least two more hours before our chakra supply runs out."

"That sucks," there was a clone behind the puppet, the one who had spoken out, "we still don't have a clue about this puppet's capabilities."

"I know," the one on top of the bed replied before placing the scroll he had down on the sheet, "still, we aren't puppeteers, so how can we even use the puppet?"

They all voiced their agreement as the puppet now sat in the corner with most of the compartments open. The clone with the clipboard stopped in front of the doll, staring at the open chest.

"What's this?" he spoke before taking a glance at his clipboard again then peeking inside the chest compartment.

"What is it, you find something?" the clones watched with interest as the clone placed a hand inside the interior wall of the opened chest.

"Yeah actually, there's some kind of symbol, other than the heart, but I am not sure what it does," the clone's hand gently released a little chakra to the seal as the main clone seemed to be unsure.

"I don't remember reading on it," he placed his hand out to the clone, "careful, we don't know what it does."

"Relax," the clone responded with a feral smirk, "what's the worst that can happen."

The chakra activated the symbol to the sides. Green light shined through the interior, moving through the puppet, encompassing the clone who had activated it before the clone had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Each of the clones backed away and watched as the puppet's open compartments closed, the hands moved, the eyes rolled, and the mouth clattered, closing and opening, as if it was speaking while the head started to spin with the red hair spreading out wildly.

None of them wanted to approach until they were sure it was over…

**…Scene Change…**

Naruto walked out of Nari's home with the new silver earrings dangling on his earlobes but instead of being satisfied, something was troubling him.

"_It's nothing much, all you have to do is, be my date to the festival"_

Sure he said yes but the next problem he would have to resolve is finding something to wear to this festival. He did note that it was an important thing to dress formal, even though it was a one night thing; still, finding formal wear was hard especially since he had a budget.

He made a sudden stop as an image, a scene in his mind played out, allowing Naruto to witness something he wasn't sure what. He saw his home, the puppet, the actions, and then the light. Was this a prediction? Why did he see these images?

He could only stand there, pondering on whether this image he just received was a fake or not. Did this mean one of his shadow clones was destroyed, and if so, how did this information return to him, he never noticed this before but then again, he never did use the shadow clone technique much because it was too draining …so he wouldn't know all the perks to a shadow clone now, would he?

Rather than brushing this off, he decided he needed to return home as he scanned for a secluded place for his escape. He quickly made his way towards one of the alleys between two large buildings, calmly looking around at the passer byes before deeming it ok to use the technique.

With just his will, he activated the thunder god technique which allowed him to appear in his home from the tiny seal implanted on his ceiling. Once he arrived, he was surprised to find all his clones crowded around the kitchen area, each one trying to get a view of what exactly, Naruto wasn't sure off.

"What's going on?" he questioned as he arrived behind one of his clones.

The clones turned to him, each one had an excited look on their faces as Naruto had no clue what was going on. He heard a noise from the kitchen, with several voices; one in particular was unfamiliar to him.

"Why are there so many of you?"

It was a feminine voice, surprising Naruto who wondered why there was someone in his home.

"We are, how should I say it?" it was one of his clones talking in the kitchen, "we are just copies of the master, a shadow clone if you know what that is."

"Ok really, who is that," the real Naruto started pushing his way through the crowd of clones, "where is the puppet, and why did you let this person in the…"

He couldn't finish his words once he saw who, or what it was standing in the kitchen. Each clone's smile widened once the master finally got a view of what exactly this was.

What he could describe as a woman, stood there in the kitchen. She was taller than the clone next to her, tall as an adult, and she was wearing one of his bigger cloaks, which covered the upper half of her body. Her dark ring eyes didn't really seem surprised, nor did her expression seem to be changing. Her skin looked smooth and the words' wooden porcelain' came to his mind, she was what he could describe as not completely human looking, but something else. She was the puppet; he remembered the descriptions as he saw her hands move at her sides, her head tilting back a little while her red hair actually seemed to be alive, as if it was a real woman's hair.

"This can't be real," Naruto was shocked, he thought he had seen everything once he met Kyuubi but as he saw her lift one of her wooden fingers and pointed at him, he knew there were more things in this world he needed to explore.

"Human sir," her voice was enquiring, curious, and quite soft, "you are dressed differently. Why?"

No response, as if his mind was still processing the fact that a lifeless puppet now stood, alive, in his kitchen. The clone next to her answered.

"He is the original, the one who created us."

"Oh," she nodded before heading towards the real Naruto who could only watch her with a stunned face, "then I guess, it is you I have to thank for awakening me."

Naruto shook his head before focusing on what was going on, "why are you in the kitchen?" that was all he could think of in the moment, sure there were thousands of questions he wanted to ask, but this was all he could say at this exact moment in time.

"She was just curious about where she was," a clone spoke out from behind Naruto.

"But how is this possible?"

"Could the seal have activated somehow, but what was the cause."

"Wait guys, quiet for a minute," Naruto started speaking as more clones started to chat amiably.

"What's her name?"

"Does she remember her past?"

More questions kept flowing through the kitchen that the real Naruto started to get a headache. The clones around him, they were asking questions that he would have wondered, each of those clones were forming thoughts, trying to figure out questions, and forming ideas that he himself would have thought…which would mean, the shadow clone technique was no ordinary technique if he really thought about it.

"You know what."

Naruto turned to his sides, spotting one of his clones who had a look of melancholy, they stared at each other.

"What is it?" Naruto asked as the clone remained sullen as if he wasn't sure he should say it.

The master concentrated on the clone before something spoke in his mind, not like someone literarily speaking in his mind, more like thoughts floating into him, as if he knew what the clone was thinking.

'She almost looks like our mother'

This was where Naruto turned back to the puppet again, watching as it continued to stare at his clones with an unchanging look. He knew the puppet couldn't make an emotion appear on her face, she lacked the facial muscles but with the idea the clone had thought up, he did notice a few features that reminded him of his mother. Especially the long red hair, it was a dead give away, but Naruto knew that this was not his mother; she was just a puppet that did remind him of her.

"Ok that's it," Naruto heard more of his clones argue as he decided it was time to get rid of them. He cancelled each of his clones, watching as each one disappeared in a puff of smoke, with the noises disappearing as well.

The puppet flinched which told Naruto that she was surprised. He tried to step forward but something hit him, his head became overwhelmingly heavy with more thoughts, ideas, and knowledge then he knew. The room continued to spin in his mind, his head and body continued to wobble around as the puppet almost seemed to look concerned before…Naruto blacked out.

It was only a few more minutes later that Naruto had awoken. He was surprised to find himself lying on top of his bed as he placed his hand on his forehead and rubbed the small headache.

"What happened?" Naruto asked as he continued rubbing with his eyes closed.

"You passed out so I carried you to your bed."

The feminine voice answered as Naruto remembered everything and not just what had happened a few minutes earlier but also things he had remembered assigning his clones. He remembered the plans to the puppet, events that had occurred before he had gone out of his home, the studies, and several other thoughts that he was sure he wasn't thinking of earlier; he needed to stop as he felt another headache rising.

He turned to the puppet, watching as her eyes were concentrating on an object on a table. She was a puppet, her arms, her body, it was a porcelain wooden brown, dark, and he could see all the pieces that connected her body together, it was just so unsightly, it was not every day that you see a puppet come to life…

"What are you doing?"

The puppet tilted her head with her eyes still staring down at the object which was a scroll as her wooden hands continued to write or draw something on it with one of his pencils.

"I do not know," she couldn't express herself but with her soft voice, Naruto could tell she was troubled, "I remember something, a specific symbol; I am just not sure what it is."

Naruto soon left the bed and stood next to her, watching as she finished what she was doing. He peered down at the symbol and recognized it as a type of storage seal.

"I don't know who I am, if you are wondering," she spoke in a voice that showed her frustration, "I've tried to remember, but I have only been getting bits and parts of it, parts of what I think are my memories," her wooden hands were shaking as she lifted them up to her face, "what am I, was I ever human, why was I created like this, I want to know."

Even though her expression remained the same, Naruto knew she was deeply troubled, Naruto knew she was human, once, and to be brought back to life in a body that couldn't express themselves at all, it must be hell for her.

"Maybe if you activated that seal, you might get some answers," Naruto offered as he gave her a friendly smile. He wanted to help her now, he was curious as well but he could feel her discomfort.

She nodded before she placed a hand on top of the seal. It glowed, and with a puff of smoke, several objects appeared on top of the table. The fact that she was able to activate the seal confirmed that she was able to use chakra, later on he would see what else she could do, but before that, they had to figure out who exactly was she in her past life.

There was a sowing box, something that really surprised Naruto because he hadn't expected that, then there were clothes, one for a village woman, and another was in a packet.

The doll stared at the objects for a moment, "there is something familiar about this," she spoke before standing up. She lifted the cloak off of her before placing on the village woman's outfit. The outfit was that of the arid sand village, a brown autumn colored tunic with the same colored turban and skirt.

These outfits made her look more human as she took the package and opened it. It surprised Naruto what it was, it was a robe that looked expensive. It was finely made and as Naruto felt the fabric, he knew this must have been worn by someone important.

"I was told by one of your clones that your name was Naruto?"

"Yes, it is."

She nodded, "please, stand on top of the stool please." She pointed at the stool next to the table near the bed.

Wanting to help her, Naruto nodded before taking off his cloak and standing on top of the stool.

The puppet approached the boy, and Naruto now found himself staring into her eyes because now as he stood on top of the stool, their heights matched. She placed the robe over him, Naruto helped by placing his hands through the arm holes and placing his head out through the head hole.

An amused smile arose from Naruto's face as he waved his arms around with the baggy sleeves waving in the air for emphasis that it was pretty baggy.

She seemed to have found this amusing as well before she opened her sowing box.

"Woah, are you sure you want to do that," he pointed at the robe then the sowing box, "you might ruin this?"

She shook her head, "I have a feeling that I know what I am doing, allow me this please."

Naruto nodded, "ok then, if it helps you remember, then I'll do what I can, "he smiled, and even though she couldn't make a smile on her own, he knew she appreciated it.

The puppet proceeded to work on the robe, first measuring Naruto's body, folding back a few sleeves, and taking notes of something with the way she would always move back to certain spots.

"So, you remember some things, but not everything?" Naruto started questioning to pass by the time.

She nodded as she had several pins in her wooden mouth, "I wish I could tell you what I can do, but really, I don't remember," when she replied, Naruto noted that her mouth hadn't moved at all.

"All I remember was sleeping," she moved her arms around Naruto's waste, folding back the excess cloth and pinning them together, "it felt good at some point, as if I have never slept in the longest time. It felt right if you can understand that, but still, I wanted to wake up, I just didn't know how," she glanced up at Naruto, nodding to him in thanks before continuing her work, "well, now at least I have you to thank for finally waking up."

"Yeah," Naruto stared straight ahead as they continued for a moment, it allowed him time to gather his thoughts; he felt sorry for the puppet, but with the way the puppet acted, he had to stop calling her just a puppet and start treating her more like a human, "listen," she stopped what she was doing and watched him, "from now on, we're in this together, I'll help you find your memories, it's a promise."

If she could smile she would have, "thank you," she said before continuing her work.

She tidied up whatever she was doing before instructing him to take off the robe, "alright, I should have it all down," she took the robe as Naruto stepped down from the stool and onto the floor.

"Give me a few minutes," she started walking off to another side of the room as Naruto nodded and sat on the bed.

"I think maybe I was a tailor," she said while fixing the robe as Naruto spotted her taking out a pair of scissors from the sowing box.

"Or maybe tailoring was just a hobby," Naruto supplied, earning an agreeing sound from the puppet, "say what do we call you."

She stopped and stared at him as Naruto explained.

"I don't want to call you puppet, so until we know your real name, I guess you need a new one."

"If you are looking for ideas then," she went back to her work, "I wouldn't have a clue."

"I know," Naruto responded as he found the puppet's scroll schematics on top of his bed. He opened it and started skimming through them. He also had to think about his shadow clones, like how exactly did the information flow through him. How is it that all these writings are familiar to him when only his clones read them? All this pointed to one thing, it pointed to why multiple shadow clone technique was forbidden. Sure he knew summoning that much clones causes stress on the body, but the information gathering side of the technique, that side of it made it an S class technique, something if anyone found out about it, would make it the best technique for information gathering.

He turned to the puppet, watching as she sat on the chair, now gently sowing a few cut pieces together. She sat so calmly, as if she was used to it that it brought peace to Naruto, and before he realized it, he caught himself from staring too long.

"I was thinking," Naruto spoke out as he turned away, maybe a bit embarrassed.

"Hmm, of what?" her voice called out to him, it was soft spoken, trusting, and lovely.

"Your name," he remembered what his clone had thought earlier, and why she was so familiar.

"Yes, have you decided on it?"

Naruto nodded, "can I call you…Kushina?"

She stopped her work and glanced at him. He looked away before rubbing his head in embarrassment, "well I mean, just until we find out your real name, that's all."

Her head tilted to the sides, thinking it over as she watched the blonde, "Kushina," she pronounced, "does this name mean something to you?"

"Um," Naruto was awkward as a feint blush appeared on his cheeks, "n-no, why do you think it does?"

"You're blushing and your voice was significantly higher that time, meaning, you're hiding something"

'Maybe she was an anbu as well,' Naruto thought to himself before sighing; he couldn't face her out of embarrassment but he did respond.

"She, was my mother"

The puppet saw that he wanted to continue so she waited, watching as Naruto seemed to be struggling.

"She died during labor with me, so, all I have is pictures and a few stories of her," he never talked to anyone about his mother before, and for some reason, it irritated him, "my dad hated when I asked about her, so maybe, maybe that's why we never became close, I don't know really," he grew silent before staring at the surface of his bed with his hands slightly clenched.

"Do I remind you of her?"

Naruto turned to face her with a soft smile on his face, he shook his head, "you look like her, that's all I can say. Before I unconditionally left my village, I had brought nothing but what I had in my body and the clothes on my back. If I were to pack to runaway, I would have packed a picture of my mother, so seeing you just made me remember her, that's all."

"Ok Naruto, I accept that name," she nodded to him, watching as the boy wiped at his eyes. They were tears, small ones but the newly named puppet, Kushina, didn't want to comment on it, "while I work, please, tell me more of this village of yours and how did you leave it?"

"Alright then," Naruto laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling as he thought of his adventures so far, "I'll tell you what happened to me so far, it's not really long but, it is still long enough."

She positioned herself while working on the robe as Naruto began explaining his story. He started from his village, the whole encounter, the situation he was in, and the position he had in the village. He later continued with his story so far, the whole encounter and awakening at vegetable country. All through the conversation, Kushina was listening, commenting, and applauding as well. Naruto found himself enjoying the conversation, even as the hour passed by, he couldn't help but open up to her, even blushing when she had applauded him and complemented him. It was a new feeling for him as he let himself drift into the stories, even explaining why he wanted to leave the village, how he had envied his uncle Jiraiya and his travels. He forgot about the trainings he could be doing and the knowledge he had access too, but instead, he concentrated on telling her the story, for what reasons, he wasn't sure of himself.

It was near evening when Naruto found himself finishing his story with Kushina sitting right beside him on the bed. He finished recounting several incidents that have happened in his stay in Sand village, while Kushina sat still in his bed, listening to these events.

"That is impressive so far, especially for your age," Kushina complimented which earned a blush from Naruto. She stood up from the bed with the robe in her arms that she had finished altering a few moments ago.

"Come now, try this on," she handed the robes to him.

He took it before nodding and trying it on. It slipped on him perfectly, her work didn't ruin the fabric, it went with it, and the alterations made it fit snugly. With the robes fitting so perfectly, he also wondered if Kushina really was a tailor before, when she was still human.

The robes made him remember something important in which he turned to the clock. It was the evening, and remembering what tonight was, he also remembered Nari.

"Oh crap," Naruto scratched at his hair. He wasn't late or anything, he just didn't want to leave Kushina alone, "the autumn festival, I forgot about it."

The puppet seemed to have perked up, "the autumn festival?"

Naruto turned back to her, "yes, do you remember anything?"

"I do," she peered thoughtful, only with the way her eyes didn't seem to be paying attention to him, "I know what it is actually."

"Then you should come with me, maybe you might remember something," Naruto suggested, a bit excited at the thought. But Kushina seemed against it as she raised a hand which stopped the energetic blonde.

"Sadly, no I can't Naruto," she rose to her full height, staring down at the well dressed blonde, "look at me, I know that I am no longer human, going out there will only cause trouble."

He didn't like it, even though he knew it was true, "but, maybe."

"No Naruto," her voice sounded motherly, stopping the boy as she placed her wooden hand on his shoulder, "please just go, have fun. I need some time to think to myself, ok?" she saw the hesitant look in the boy's eyes before adding in, "please Naruto," at the end.

Reluctantly, the boy nodded before getting ready. He took off the robe, grateful he had one, and placed it gently on the bed, he never noticed it before, but the stitching on the robe, they depicted the shape of the winds, flowing around with tiny sparkling jewels at some of the ends. It mixed the color of red and brown, reminding Naruto of an arid prince.

He quickly got ready, splashed water into his face, wiped, and changed into some fresh underclothing before placing on the robes again. Before he left though, he faced the puppet once more, he really didn't want to leave her alone, "we'll find a way, you will walk around this village again, openly."

She nodded, "thanks Naruto, now go, and enjoy. They say that the autumn festival is that one time you can find that someone special, so go on, maybe you'll find that special person of your own."

A smile rose on Naruto's lips as he nodded, "alright, I will be back, goodbye Kushina."

"Have fun," she replied back as Naruto left the room.

She took a chair and placed it near the window before sitting on it. She lifted her hand up with her expression that could never change, "I feel nothing," she spoke out before disconnecting her hand, watching as she held the hand piece in her other. She connected it again before sighing out into the window; she couldn't remember anything about this body, not even a memory that could have helped her…but then, who was that man in her mind, that man with dark hair, a face that had her feeling woozy, and why did she have a longing to see this man again?

She sighed in distress, for she wouldn't know until she found her memories…

**…Scene Change…**

**Naruto **worried about Kushina as he made his way to Nari's house. He saw several villagers, most of them well dressed but he couldn't help but notice that most had to stop and stare at him, with a look that he couldn't describe. He did his best to smile back, a bit awkwardly, but still, he smiled before walking in a more evened pace, if that was possible.

Arriving, he waved at a few more villagers who were staring at him before knocking on the door. Soon, it opened to the face of Nari, but he had to stare in surprise as she opened the door fully.

She was wearing a pink kimono, nothing too fancy but still, something he wasn't use to seeing. Her hair was fixed up neatly, and tied in a ponytail that was shaped as a cherry. He noticed she also had some minor make up around her eyes and something on her lips that made it sparkle when lit by the light.

"Hey there," she greeted before her eyes looked him up and down, "wow Naruto, that robe looks expensive."

"Thanks,"

She then took his hand before trying to head out the door; her reaction was quick which made Naruto wonder why she wanted to leave so soon.

"Hold it"

It was Nari's mother who stopped them as Nari seemed nervous before they both turned to face the door way.

Her mother appeared, her eyes giving Nari a look before she turned to Naruto.

"Oh my," she blinked a few times, obviously surprised before she continued speaking, "that outfit, it looks so much like the late Kazekage's own."

That information surprised Naruto as he rubbed at his robe, "really?" he asked, curious about how this outfit reminded her of the Kazekage.

"Yes, even here," she crouched down as she placed a hand on one of his collars, "it has the Sand symbol embroidered into it," she faced it towards the light, watching as it glinted off the light, "wow, that is very fine material."

"Well," Naruto quickly stood back, already surprised to find out this information, "Nari and I have to get to the festival, wouldn't want to be late now."

"Of course," she nodded as if she remembered where she was at the moment, "but first," she took out something from behind her, an object that had Nari blushing and Naruto inwardly laughing, "I definitely need a picture of you two."

"Aw mom"

Naruto heard Nari whisper out beside him as he chuckled and nodded for the picture. It was only a few seconds they spent taking the photo before her mother explained she would be out there in a few more minutes. The blonde watched the interaction of mother and daughter before finally, they were free to leave.

The walk was eventful, they caught up, Nari chatted amiably with Naruto which showed that she was excited about tonight which led to Naruto asking who would be there.

"Everyone will, even your friends, Nejiri and that other girl."

"Matsuri?" Naruto raised a brow, supplying the name as the light tan skinned girl looked away.

"Yeah, her"

He chuckled watching her expression before he remembered one of her friends.

"How is Mikoshi?"

"Oh," Nari felt uncomfortable and Naruto could see the discomfort in her, "I haven't seen her much yesterday, she just disappeared, and also today. She hasn't tried to contact me or Kashike at all so I am not sure what she could be doing."

"Shouldn't you be worried?" Naruto asked, watching as Nari was still uncomfortable.

There was a look of hesitation, as if she wanted to say something to him, he just wasn't sure what it was and he didn't want to force her to say.

When the festival came near, they could already hear the music and the laughter, and if they looked harder, they could see light coming from the game booths that were set up. It was this time that Nari had decided to speak.

"Naruto, I think you should know something about Mikoshi."

Naruto turned to her, giving her his full attention as she continued to speak.

"She's my friend but, at least you need to know how it is she exactly feels about you in fact," Nari paused unsure what she should do. Inwardly, she knew her friend's feelings for this boy, but the days knowing him, she couldn't help but develop a few feelings for him too which made it awkward, "she…"

"Naruto!"

A voice interrupted them as a person came from behind, placing his hands on his shoulder. Naruto grinned as he spotted Nejiri.

"Nari?" a feminine voice addressed the girl who turned around and found her friend Kashike, dressed as well.

"You found a date for the festival, that's great," Nejiri patted his back, earning an annoyed look from Naruto who placed a hand on Nejiri's shoulder.

He gripped hard, watching as a brief sensation of pain passed through the sand boy's face.

"Yeah I did, and what's with all these rumors about me?"

"Oh come on, you're not mad at that, are you?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes before he felt a hand slipped beneath his arm. He turned to the side, watching as the girl he remembered was Kashike, another of Mikoshi's friend, smiled at him with a flirtatious look about her face.

"And so what about the rumors, I think they make you look very brave."

"Kashike," Nari argued as she walked over to Naruto's other side and placed her hand underneath his arm, "Naruto is my date, kindly let go please."

"Oh come on Nari, we could share right? Besides," she peered at Naruto again, "he looks really good tonight."

Naruto was a bit embarrassed as he started walking forward; at least hoping he could make it to the festival. He was relieved that the girls had let go, and started chatting with themselves, which he enjoyed since it showed that the two really were good friends.

Nejiri bumped Naruto in the sides before whispering into his ear, "and here I was worried no girl was going to like you."

A chuckle escaped his voice as Naruto rolled his eyes before replying.

"So who did you go with anyways?"

That seemed to shut him up as he sighed before replying, "I didn't get a chance to ask her, so I was hoping I'd bump into her tonight."

"You know, you still haven't told me who it was?"

Nejiri snickered, "if we see her tonight, I'll show you," he noticed something as he watched the blonde's ears, "did you get earrings?"

"Yeah well," Naruto rubbed at his head before laughing awkwardly, "just wanted to try a new look, that's all."

"Uh huh" was Nejiri's only response as they arrived at the booths.

All around them, there were smells of food, and the sounds of laughter. Games were everywhere, with lights, and music that came from the back. It was a festival, and everyone was happy.

"I wonder if Mikoshi is here?" Naruto questioned which earned a frown from the two girls.

"She wasn't home when I went to visit her," Kashike answered to the surprise of Naruto and Nari. She smiled though before continuing, "We'll probably see her tonight, her mom said she went to the festival."

"That's good to hear," Naruto was glad before he pointed at a booth and made his way towards it.

Kashike gently pulled her friend Nari to the side before whispering, "You like him, don't you?"

That earned a blush as Nari looked away, "I do but."

"So does Mikoshi, which makes this rather awkward don't you think?" her purpled hair friend replied as Nari nodded.

"Anyways, he's my date so let's try to enjoy ourselves," Nari responded before her friend pointed at the blonde who was talking to one of his friends, that girl who used to be afraid of weapons.

"Well, it seems like you and Mikoshi aren't the only ones who like him," Kashike joked, watching as Nari's cheeks puffed before she headed towards the two.

"The games are harder if they know you're a ninja," Matsuri pouted and spoke out a bit disappointed which earned a chuckle from Naruto.

He knew it would be harder; it was the same in Konoha, separate games for villagers and ninjas because the facts are that ninjas are trained with higher accuracy than the villagers.

"Oh and here," she took out something from the pouch attached to her brown kimono. It was a small keychain of a creature that seemed to be a cross bread of a raccoon and a dog, and if he didn't know better, he suspected it to be a Tanuki and she handed it over to him.

"I know I am not that close to, you know who, so, can you please give this to him for me?"

Naruto took the keychain before smiling wide; he knew Gaara would appreciate the gift.

"Yeah Matsuri, I definitely will," he replied before placing the key chain away.

Suddenly, he felt an arm wrapped against his own before the voice of Nari spoke out.

"Hey Naruto, let's get something to eat, I'm sure you're hungry."

"Yeah actually, I am," Naruto replied before turning to Matsuri and Nejiri, the boy who stood a little off the sides with a face that seemed to be searching for someone.

"Hey guys, you coming along?"

Matsuri felt a strange yet threatening sensation from somewhere, she just wasn't sure what it was, at first she thought it was from that girl Nari, but then again, the girl was giving her a friendly smile, so where did this feeling come from.

"Sure Naruto," Matsuri replied as the uncomfortable feeling suddenly shot through, actually scaring her a bit as she looked around again before turning to face the girl Nari who was holding on to one of Naruto's arms.

"This will be fun, the all of us," Nari had spoken in a sweet voice, so sweet that it really disturbed Matsuri for some odd reason…

The group of friends went to enjoy the night; Naruto had the most fun as he watched his friends chat, banter, and played the games. Tonight, he was finally able to relax, a night of no worries.

The blonde heard the excited chatter all around him; it started once one of the drums started playing a type of ceremonial beat, one that urged the body to flow in the music and dance.

"Did you hear? Someone was sent to the hospital, and I heard that this person was attacked."

Naruto perked his ears at the conversation he heard from somewhere in the crowd.

"I hear it was Gaara who attacked the person, and I also heard that this person was someone important that the council is trying to hide it."

The beating of his heart sped; it frightened Naruto as he heard the conversation. Of course the village was going to suspect Gaara first, and if things became worse, the council might try to cover up this incident, probably through assassination against Gaara once more. That was the worst case scenario, but still, he knew Gaara didn't do it, and he hoped those rumors didn't circulate.

"The dance is starting, come on!"

It was Kashike who spoke excitedly as the group followed with Nari grabbing hold of Naruto's arm. It distracted Naruto from the rumor as they made it to the clearing surrounded by crowds of people. There was a large bon fire in the center with tiny blazers surrounding the area. The night did well to make the area look a bit mystical, like a sort of bonding flames in the dark night.

"Mr. Naruto," a voice spoke from the side, a familiar voice as the blonde turned to see who it was.

She was dressed finely; the robe she wore had the picture of two dragons swirling around her robe with the colors of red, yellow, and orange, each one colored perfectly in place and outlined in a golden thread color that it worked well to bring out the deep orange color of her short hair.

"Kimi," he looked at her again before correcting himself, "I mean, Lady Kimi," Naruto smiled before formally leaning back and bowing towards her. He knew she must come from a rich family, or a clan of some sorts with an outfit like that, "it's good to see you tonight."

She blushed in the dark night filled with the light off the orange blazons of fire.

"Why thank you, Sir Naruto" she did a brief bow as well, a sort of greeting for a daimyo or Lord as her blush never left her cheeks.

The action between the two caught the attention of others around them. If a passerby did observe, it would seem like the two were related to a Lord or were the children of a daimyo.

"Um Naruto," Nari came in with a displeased look, watching the two, "how do you know Lady Kimatachi?"

He suspected 'Kimi' was a shorter alias for her real name but the title in front of her name meant she was someone pretty important. He then explained how he had met her in the morning, leaving out the awkward things before he asked how Nari knew the girl.

"I-I think I should explain, if I may," Kimi had spoken in a polite manner, bowing her head slightly for the interruption. Nari nodded before letting her continue.

She bowed again as she faced Naruto, something that looked like an apology before she spoke.

"My full name is Kimatachi Hana, I attend the ninja academy, and I am also the daughter of the Daimyo of Wind Country."

"The daughter of a Daimyo attending the Sand ninja academy," a surprised look crossed his face as he put two and two together, "you were born a chakra user?"

"Yes I was," embarrassingly, she nodded as Naruto s till seemed to have more questions.

"Guys, let's go sit," Matsuri interrupted as she pointed of to the side. As they looked around, it seemed like the ceremony was beginning, there were strangely dressed villagers appearing at the center.

"That's the opening," Nari said as they headed towards a spot to watch, "it's the basic, the dance shows the story of the nomads, how they wandered the desert, fought, and founded the sand village."

A flute played in the background, and with it came an enchanting melody that attracted the crowd's attention. It was a quiet sound, soft, and beautiful.

Naruto felt someone close to him before turning his head to spot Kimi once again. She smiled kindly at him as he returned the gesture before he remembered what she said earlier.

The others seemed distracted, so they didn't notice when he spoke.

"Hana is your first name?"

She nodded as her face flushed with embarrassment, "I don't like it, I prefer being called Kimi, it makes me sound more like a person."

"Yeah but then again," she met his stare, both of them watching each other, one with a smile while another still embarrassed as Naruto continued, "what's wrong with Hana, the beautiful flower," he grinned before rubbing at his nose, "I think it matches."

Turning away, her blush further increased as she shook her head to that comment, "y-you over exaggerate; it doesn't mean t-that."

"He he," Naruto chuckled as he shook his head and smiled, "I'll still call you Kimi though, but I'd like it if I called you Hana sometimes, if that is alright with you?"

"S-sure, I don't mind," she answered, her face brightened as they continued to watch the opening to the festival dance. She scooted herself, closer to the blonde with Naruto unaware of her actions until he felt someone pull him from behind.

"Naruto nooo," it was a whisper of shock mixed with defeat that took Naruto by surprise.

Naruto turned to the source, finding the jealous face of his friend Nejiri. The blonde was confused as to why his friend was put out. Nejiri's shoulders were slumped, his head tilted down as Naruto felt that his friend was trying to tell him something, so the blonde leaned closer as Nejiri whispered.

"You had a moment with Lady Kimatachi, a nickname, and first name basis, all I one day… I can't believe it…"

Confusion once again as Naruto tried to wonder what that meant, and why Nejiri would be bitter unless…Naruto figured it out as his eyes widened.

"This is the girl you like?" Naruto's voice was shocked along with his face as the sand student nodded his head and made a shushing sound to keep the conversation low.

"Yeah, but really, you oh come on," Nejiri scratched his hair in irritation as Naruto wasn't sure of what to do.

"Lady Kimatachi is very popular in the academy."

The voice came from behind Nejiri as both boys turned to look. It was Matsuri who joined the conversation with a smirk on her face. She leaned with the three, speaking in a whisper so that only they could hear.

"She is in the same class as me, a second year, but most of the third years," she eyed the dark haired sand student, ", and guys in my class, have a crush on her."

"Wow, I didn't know," Naruto answered, watching Nejiri again before asking, "She seems like a kind person, I wonder who she went with to the festival."

"Well," Matsuri waved her hands with an unsure gesture, "I heard she declined all the invitations, so probably no one."

"Hmm," Naruto rubbed at his chin as he thought for a moment while turning to watch Nejiri every now and then. Before he could respond, it seemed the ceremony was over as people from the crowd started going into the center. They were forming a ring, a ring where people danced around the large bonfire in a circle while he also spotted a few pairing up with their dates of some sort and dancing as well.

"Hey Naruto, come dance with me," Nari spoke immediately as Naruto seemed unsure.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how," he turned to Kimi, watching how a few guys had approached her. She seemed uncomfortable before the blonde took Nejiri by the shoulder, "excuse me for a moment," he apologized to Nari and the others before heading towards the orange haired girl.

"Lady Hana," he spoke while his hand kept firm on Nejiri's shoulder.

"Naruto, what are you doing," the sand student whispered as his blush rose once they came in contact with the young Lady Kimatachi.

Hana turned away from the crowd with a relieved look before approaching the two. The others around them seemed putout watching them before Naruto pushed Nejiri in the front.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how to dance, do you mind dancing with my friend here so I might learn a bit?"

"Oh, Nejiri senpai," she nodded to him before watching Naruto once more, "ok Naruto, I will," she smiled before taking the sand student's hand, making the boy blush even more, and pulling him into the surroundings.

Naruto smiled at that as he heard the drums beat, the flute play, and the crash of the bells. He turned back to Nari and the others before an apologetic look appeared on his face, "I really don't know how to dance, mind if I watch just for a minute?"

Nari, Kashike, and Matsuri looked at each other for a moment before shrugging.

"You will dance tonight, I am looking forward to it," Nari spoke while smiling all the while. The blonde nodded as he signaled them to have fun already.

Matsuri stayed for a bit before speaking to Naruto, "that was a kind thing you did for Nejiri."

They both watched the dance, spotting the awkward stance and movement coming from the boy. Nejiri seemed nervous while Kimi seemed confused, maybe at the boy's attitude before they spotted an amused smile, and a giggle that seemed to have made the boy even more nervous.

"See you there, alright?" she asked with Naruto replying with an affirmative response before she left to join the crowd.

The music played by the professionals was soothing, especially with the tiny flute, and the large bonfire, he truly felt like a sort of nomad. He clapped with the beat, watching as the dance was something like hopping around, which made him wonder if they made up the dance or not. They hopped on one leg, then switched, sliding to the front, it was pretty funny to watch.

It was a few more minutes with Naruto leaning against one of the buildings, his hands clapping with the beat of the drums until Nari had approached him again.

"Come dance with us," she urged him as Naruto shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I still don't know how," he scratched at the back of his head as Nari pouted before returning to the crowd.

She bumped into Kashike and Matsuri before whispering something into their ear. They soon approached Nejiri and Kimatachi before whispering to them as well before a smile and smirk appeared on their faces and they turned back to stare at Naruto who was unaware and still clapping to the beat.

The three girls, Matsuri, Kashike, and Nari, approached the blonde.

"Hey, what's….?" he fumbled with his speech as Nari and Kashike both grabbed a hand, pulling him forward while Matsuri pushed from behind his back

"You are going to learn to dance, whether you like it or not," Nari spoke out, laughing with the others along the way as they dragged the blonde to the crowd.

Naruto enjoyed it though; they were trying hard for his sake, so he should try hard for theirs. They dragged him to the spot Nejiri and Kimi where dancing before they all stood together. Nejiri started speaking, "it's nothing to it, once you got the beat and the dance steps, you make it up as you go."

A demonstration with his legs moving about in a manner that Naruto found was more than just hopping. His friend urged him to follow as Naruto did just that, moving to the sides, clapping his hands, and jumping slightly to the beat. The others saw this and started to laugh before smiling and following along. It was a grand time, all of them enjoying themselves, dancing around. Naruto got even braver, dancing around each of them, close enough that it caused Kimi to blush at the closeness, along with Nari and Kashike.

Simple, a lot simpler than what Naruto had thought as he felt he was doing it right. Soon, Nari stepped in front of him, causing him and the others around him to stop for a moment. She was blushing, and by the looks of it, she was embarrassed, but the particular thing was, her right hand was stretched out, as if awaiting something to happen.

"Let me teach you another type of dancing," she spoke out, causing Naruto to become interested.

"She's going to teach him that, now?" Nejiri whispered to Matsuri who seemed amused with the situation. The Sand boy turned to Kimi before frowning once he saw the sad look on her face.

"Place the back of your hand behind this one."

Naruto did just that, lifting his right hand and gently setting it to tap behind her hand. He followed her instructions, watching as she did a courteous bow before he did a bow himself. She gently guided him, her eyes never taking them off of Naruto before moving in a circle around each other, their hands never un- touching as well.

It was slower but he did a few hops in his steps, along with her, and to him, it felt comfortable, especially watching the way she enjoyed it, with her face blushing nonstop. As long as she was happy, as long as one of his friends was happy, he would be happy as well.

"Isn't that a dance for coup-"

Nejiri was cut off by a punch in his sides by Matsuri who pointed to Kimi. The sand boy turned to face her, watching as she seemed to be near tears before he bit his tongue, glanced back at Naruto and Nari in this intimate dance which the blonde clearly wasn't aware of before turning back to Kimi.

He stood in front of her, catching her attention before she wiped at her eyes.

"O-oh, Nejiri senpai," she wiped her eyes before smiling.

He bowed briefly, a surprising act as he outstretched his right hand out. He smiled the best he could, "he's having fun, like we all should, so please, dance with me."

His eyes were hopeful, watching as Kimi blinked in surprise before a slow and sure smile rose on her face.

"You're right," she gently tapped her back right hand to his own before following in step.

They both danced along with the beat, with the others following in, and just moving normally, trying to make the most of the night.

Naruto had found himself enjoying the night immensely, he had never heard of Konoha having a festival like this, it was new for him, something he would remember.

When the time passed, so did music as the crowd stopped and wondered what was going on.

"And now!"

A voice shouted off from the distance as everyone turned to stare near the bonfire.

"To present, this years, Autumn Queen!"

The crowd roared out, clapping as a puff of smoke appeared in the clearing, revealing a woman dressed in a most peculiar outfit. The coloring of her clothes matched the very sand she walked on, it was a type of robe that allowed free movement of the feet. The outfit clung on to her body, the woman, while she also wore a sort of mask that hid the upper portion of her face. Her hair was tied in several buns, stretching out and connected with two chopsticks, while the mask itself was white with a jewel outline. Only the bottom of her face was showing, her cheeks, mouth, lips.

She stuck out of the crowd as she approached one of the older persons of the village in which Naruto suspected was an older ninja.

"And let's not forget," there was another poof of smoke, a lighter one as a smaller figure appeared, "the Autumn Princess!"

She appeared like a younger replica of the autumn Queen, except her dark brown hair was loose and not tied. She was more hesitant with her steps, as if embarrassed before her head seemed to be looking around.

"Here's your chance," Naruto whispered to Nejiri who shook his head. The blonde glanced at the boy, watching as a goofy smile was planted on his face.

"I already got to dance with someone I wanted too."

A chuckle escaped Naruto's throat as Nejiri glanced at him before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks."

Naruto nodded before he turned back to the autumn princess, watching as she seemed to have found who she was looking for. She started heading towards her direction as Naruto got a closer look on her. She seemed around their age, and also seemed like an academy student because of the way she walked, a bit more precise, like a ninja.

Other boys from the academy approached her, but she turned them down by either walking pass them, or shaking her head and moving on. She moved closer to her target, heading closer, closer, towards, towards…

"Hey," Nejiri started to whisper to Naruto as the crowd stared at who she was approaching, "is she coming over here?"

"I don't know, maybe," Naruto tried to respond but he had to stop once she finally arrived, standing in front of him with her hand outstretched.

She was silent, only the awkward smile on her face showed her emotion as Naruto seemed to find something familiar to her.

"Holy, Naruto, she is waiting on you," Nejiri laughed before nudging him on the back, "don't keep her waiting, go."

Naruto caught himself from falling before smiling awkwardly as well and rubbing the back of his head. He took her hand, placing it at the palm of his hand and watching as she clasped down, holding his hand firmly and pulling him forward.

She started leading the way, to the autumn queen who also had her partner. Now, the autumn princess stopped him right next to the Queen before the royalties of autumn faced their partners. The music started once again, with the banging of the drums, the melody of the flute, and the chiming of the bells.

They lifted their right hand forward with Naruto recognizing the act before he followed like a mirror, copying her move but before that, he bowed respectively to her, watching as she smiled before offering a courteous bow as well.

They moved again, with the crowd watching; Naruto didn't know who she was, and as he danced in step, he tried to figure out why she had chosen him, and if he had seen her before. There was something familiar about her, and with the way she was staring at him through her mask, he had a feeling that he might have met her before. They continued to dance, a few more minutes to give these two mysterious girls time to enjoy their time of the year before Naruto felt that the autumn princess was starting to slow down, meaning, she was ending it.

He tried to smile politely when they were slowly coming to a stop.

"That was, nice, thank you," Naruto spoke but he had earned no reaction, only watching as she stayed quiet like a statue. He didn't know what else to do, were they supposed to walk away now, or what? He just couldn't figure it out.

"Um, well I-"

It was then she had moved forward, a swift action that surprised Naruto because before he realized it, her lips had planted firmly into his own. He didn't hear any music nor did he heard the crowd gasp in surprise, but he felt her arm that hugged his neck tightly, her hands that softly grasped his hair, and the blissful, soft, warm kiss that lasted with what felt like hours for him. It was something he wouldn't forget, it was his first kiss, and in a night like this, and his eyes closed, he felt numb to the world as he reopened his eyes and stared at her again when they released. He saw the dark crimson blush that filled her face, and he felt his face heat as well, then the sound of life came back and the roar of the crowd filled his ears.

There was laughing and applause as Naruto glanced around him before turning to the mysterious girl, only to find that she had disappeared.

"Wait, where did she," he looked around the crowd for her presence but couldn't find her but there was a prolonging smirk on his face as he wondered if he would see her again…

…**Scene Change…**

A masked girl disappeared from the crowd, appearing in an alley and leaning against the wall. Her chest was moving rapidly as her hand moved to her heart, feeling it beat heavily as her crimson face continued to show a smile of excitement. She stared up in the night air, her smile never leaving as she tried to calm herself and sway her beating heart…

**...Naruto…**

Naruto now leaned against the wall with a smirk on his face as he watched the crowd enjoy the night. He received compliments from a few he wasn't sure he knew but it didn't matter to him. He told his friends he would rest for a few minutes, so he moved to a spot, just to let the feelings of nostalgia last a few more minutes as he breathed in a few breaths.

He looked up at the sky, thinking on peaceful things before something caught his attention, it was a wisp of sand moving along the air, like a trail leading to a roof as Naruto suspected at, what it could mean, before it changed to, who could it be.

He looked around before disappearing in the back and hopping along the walls before arriving at the roof. His eyes scanned the place before he spotted a red haired boy, standing alone and staring up into the moon lit night.

"Gaara," he spoke softly, his voice friendly as he reached into his pouch and approached the boy.

The sand demon didn't turn to face him, nor did he say anything as Naruto fell two steps away from him and stood.

"Hey Gaara," he spoke before staring up at the dark skies as well, "it's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

The blonde's hand had something in it as he handed it over to the red haired boy. Sand collected, forming a small platform underneath Naruto's hand that soon dropped the object into it.

"It's a gift from Matsuri, she was thinking of you the whole night," he smiled softly, facing him, watching as the sand moved the small Tanuki key chain in front of Gaara who observed the object with an impassive face.

"Foolish," Gaara whispered, "all of them, they are all fools."

It was then he saw it, the crack in Gaara's face. His eyes had dulled, shiny in the light, staring away into the gift as Naruto approached and tried to place a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Sand shot out of Gaara's gourd, catching the boy's hand as Naruto froze and waited for what would come next.

"Don't touch me," he said in a dangerous voice, leaving Naruto to frown and retract his hand.

"One of these days Gaara, I promise you."

"Hmp," the sand retracted, and Naruto noted that it had taken the gift into the gourd before Gaara turned his back on Naruto and disappeared, just like that, without another word or noise.

Naruto sat down near the edge of the roof, his thoughts reflected back to Gaara as he felt himself growing angry. Inside, he struggled with himself; here he was out having fun while Gaara was here, lonely. He started to hate himself before he slapped his face with his own hand and stared into the sky.

"I am his friend, I will help him, it's a promise that I will fulfill," he spoke out with such determination that his fists were clenched at his sides.

"You're really doing it, aren't you?"

A voice asked from the darkness, making Naruto turn around and facing the mysterious new comer.

The moon revealed her, showing her sandy blonde hair that was tied up in four different directions, and the giant weapon behind her back that always seemed to be connected to her.

"Temari," Naruto greeted, sighing and sitting back down near the edge of the roof.

The female ninja walked up to him before sitting near the edge next to him.

"Why are you trying so hard, you know he'll kill you?"

"He didn't now, did he?" Naruto replied, chuckling as he glanced at her. He spotted a look before he turned away again.

"Enjoying the night?" he asked.

"Hn, I never liked these festivals," she crossed her arms as the music could be heard in the background.

"Why not, it's a chance for everyone to cut back and relax."

"Hah, not everyone can relax in one of these," she glanced at him with a scowl before turning away, "as you can clearly see from Gaara's point of view."

Naruto frowned but agreed with the girl, no one needed to explain further. The blonde was still bothered though, something about what he was told earlier.

"I was told, that the autumn festival was a night you might find that someone special."

She scoffed at that, the reaction was something that Naruto seemed to have expected as well before he stood up and let out a little chuckle.

"Well, I think that is an old saying and all."

Temari glanced up at him, wondering what he was doing. She spotted the robe, took it in fully, watching the designs that looked to be expensive as Naruto patted off the dirt.

"And well, what I want to say is that…"

If she didn't know any better, he seemed to be a bit nervous as she wondered what he was trying to say now.

"In these festivals, you dance with someone special," he lifted a hand out and offered it to her with a soft smile on his lips, "But I guess, you just have to settle with me."

She found humor in those words and she took his hands before raising a brow as they stood a little ways apart.

"What if I don't want to dance, I think it is all pointless."

The music stilled played from the distance as Naruto bowed briefly at her before outstretching his hand out in front of Temari, a gesture that had the girl surprised with an astonished blush.

"I am guessing you never danced with anyone before, so it's alright if you don't know how to do it."

One of her eyes twitched as she mirrored Naruto's moves and placed her back hand behind his outreached ones.

"I do know how, now let's get this over with," she rolled her eyes as Naruto chuckled before they moved to the beat, the both of them.

It was different to Naruto, Temari was a different dancer, more awkward, and more precise, as if she was distracted.

"So tell me Naruto," she started to slow down on her steps, "where where you last night?"

Naruto stumbled briefly before continuing, "what do you mean?"

"I need you to be truthful," she stopped dancing and stared at him with a serious expression, "where where you?"

"Why do you need to know?" he questioned back, already a part of him was wondering why she wanted to know since it really wasn't a cause for concern, unless that person he saved last night really was someone important like he had heard from the rumors.

"Naruto, a person was admitted to the hospital in serious condition last night, he-"Temari couldn't look him in the eyes, "he was someone important to me."

Naruto felt bad now as he bit his tongue and wondered if he should tell the truth, but with the past tense she used, he was already suspecting the person didn't make it.

"Is he, alright?"

She didn't answer as Naruto turned away before shaking his head, "I'm sorry Temari, I tried to save him, I really did, but, he was really hurt, there was nothing I could do," he turned to face her, watching as she stared at him with one of her eye brows raised and a hand leaning on her hip.

"Why couldn't you just say that before?"

"Wait, what?" Naruto realized he was tricked when he saw her smirk.

"He's fine Naruto, he was just looking for the person who had saved him," she started walking away now, "I was sent to find out who it was, and with the information I was given, there was only one person I would suspect like that," she watched him, catching the unsure look on his face.

"Relax," she giggled before placing a hand on his shoulder, "things are just going to be interesting for you now in this village."

"What do you mean by that?" He questioned, not really liking the tone of her voice.

All she did was laugh before forming a hand seal in place, "you'll see," she remarked before disappearing in a burst of sand.

Naruto sat down again, wondering if this was something he should be worried about or not but if he wanted to help Gaara, he would need to be careful from now on, and with what Temari had said, he really started to lean towards being worried…

**…Scene Change…**

Her whole body, sturdy, not really dead, but not really human either. The puppet to life, the shell with no memories, newly named Kushina, continued to stare out the window. Something was happening, her eyes were closed, and she was recalling a little piece of what she could find. There was nothing, but she could feel it, outside, she could feel a pulsing feeling. Unaware to her, little pieces of sand was forming; it was seeping through the window and flowing into her arm, sticking to it until there was enough that it formed something in her wooden hands. She opened her eyes before lifting up her hand, it became brighter, especially with the sand that was adding to this illusion, and it almost looked like human skin…

**…End…**

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**On the Next Adventures: **

Naruto's training turns serious once the Kazekage comes into play. He starts to study the famous technique, making mistakes along the way that brings harm to his body, but it's nothing Naruto can't handle. But around the village, rumors circulate about this mysterious person sent to the hospital and most fingers point to a certain red haired sand demon container, making Naruto's job a lot harder, plus, news of Konoha finally reaches Naruto, how will he react to the news…


End file.
